Here Is A List Of Challenges TSC Is Facing According To A Report

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has released the main challenges that it faces. According to the Commission, a shortage of teachers, a lack of professionalism, and slow uptake of Information Technology skills by teachers are highlighted as some of the main challenges.

According to TSC 2021/2022 annual report, observes that alcohol and drug abuse, desertion of duty, and immoral behavior affect the effective delivery of the curriculum.

More worrying is the extent of mental health issues afflicting the profession with TSC saying one out of every four teachers seeking outpatient medical services exhibits a mental health disorder.

“The commission has noted with concern that the number of employees with mental health-related cases has been on the rise affecting the quality of curriculum delivery. To this end, the commission has continued to liaise with its stakeholders and partners in sensitizing its employees on mental health illness. The commission has also enhanced employees’ medical schemes to facilitate better attention to mental illness-related cases,” the report reads.

The Commission has also cited insecurity in some parts of the country and unfavorable working conditions in arid and semi-arid areas and hard-to-staff areas as challenges.

According to the TSC, 149,512 teachers enrolled in the controversial Teacher Professional Development which was initially opposed by unions.

The report shows that TSC has decentralized its services to eight regional offices, 47 county offices, and 338 sub-county offices.

In March, TSC published a list of 36 teachers who had been de-registered for various offenses. Last year October, 44 teachers were removed from the register while 73 others were removed in July.

TSC has been struggling to plug staffing gaps but huge deficits still remain as more new schools are established while existing ones are expanded to accommodate rising enrolment ever since the 100 percent transition policy from primary to secondary school was started in 2018.

Over the period covered by the report, TSC hired 11,859 teachers on permanent and pensionable terms while 6,000 interns were recruited.

In the 2023 Budget Policy Statement, TSC has been allocated Sh322.733 billion where Sh3.8 million is meant for the hiring of 20,000 new teachers to support a junior secondary school which was rolled out in January but faces a serious staffing challenge.

Sh11.1 billion will be for the salaries of the 20,000 interns and 10,000 teachers hired on permanent and pensionable terms in February this year.

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