Why Over 90,000 Teachers Have Enrolled For TPD Course

By Getrude Mathayo / Published June 21, 2022 | 2:50 pm

KEY POINTS

A total of 96,186 teachers have enrolled for introductory Modules amongst them 85,105 classroom teachers, 4,286 Secondary School Principals, and 6,795 primary school head teachers.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In 2019, very few teachers applied for the internship since teachers used to earn a monthly stipend of 10,000 shillings and 15,000 shillings for primary and secondary school interns respectively.

The fear to miss out on promotional positions as a result of not enrolling in the Teacher Professional Development, TPD course introduced by the Teachers Service Commission, TSC, in 2021 has driven over 90,000 teachers to enroll in the introductory Module of the TPD

A document prepared by the TSC titled framework and Roll Out of Stricture TPD in Kenya dated April 2022 shows that a total of 96,186 have enrolled for introductory Modules amongst them 85,105 classroom teachers, 4,286 Secondary School Principals, and 6,795 primary school head teachers.

Since the TSC is unpredictable with its hiring and its promotional score sheets keep changing from time to time, teachers are now afraid of missing out on promotions and employment if the Commission introduces the TPD issues in the score sheet during hiring or promotions.

The teachers are justified since of late, TSC has been coming up with different employment and promotion criteria during mass recruitment and promotion, which somehow favor those who have complied with any newly introduced policy at any given time.

During last year’s mass recruitment of teachers and TSC recruitment of teachers, the Commission awarded intern teachers an automatic 30 marks, giving them an upper hand for absorption into permanent and pensionable jobs, a situation that has recently seen the number of applicants increasing when the intern position is advertised.

In 2019, very few teachers applied for the internship since teachers used to earn a monthly stipend of 10,000 shillings and 15,000 shillings for primary and secondary school interns respectively.

Hoverer, the stipend has currently been increased to 15,000 shillings and 20,000 shillings for interns in primary and secondary schools respectively.

In 2015, the introduction of the Career Progression Guidelines, CPGs, which focuses on teachers’ performance for promotions and which resulted in the introduction of Performance Contracting, PC, for heads of institution and TPAD for teachers in January 2016, saw teachers who failed to take part in TPAD or have low rating miss out promotions.

TSC made it mandatory for teachers applying for promotions to avail TPAD evidence during the application process and interviews and those who failed to take their TPAD appraisals faced disciplinary actions including being served with Show cause letters or even being interdicted.