Debatable New TSC Teacher Recruitment Rules
Debatable New TSC Teacher Recruitment Rules. Teachers in elementary and junior secondary schools (JSS) will be able to apply for 20,000 internship places, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) announced yesterday.
Only 2,000 elementary school spots, out of the remaining 18,000, were reserved for junior secondary schools, according to the advertisement.
For teachers who are interested in applying, the Teacher Staffing Consortium (TSC) opened the online recruitment portal and offered a URL. However, after application, other previously unidentified issues become apparent and are raising questions.
1. The use of a race- or ethnicity-based criterion
For the first time ever, candidates for teaching internships are now required to give information on their racial or cultural origin. Teachers are not entirely sure why the commission wants to keep track of their racial backgrounds.
But this might be related to the TSC interim report, which was sent to Parliament back in May.
The majority of the 36,000 instructors hired by TSC in January came from the Kalenjin population, according to the report. The majority of the pool consisted of these educators.
Out of the 36,000 instructors employed in January, 20,990 were teachers, according to the data that TSC CEO Nancy Macharia gave. The report contained these information.
Macharia stated to the Cohesion and Equal Opportunity Committee of the National Assembly that “at the time of preparing this report, 20,990 newly recruited teachers from a diverse ethnic group were on payroll.”
The group of Kalenjin received the most spots, followed by other sizable tribes like the Luhya, Kikuyu, Kamba, Luo, and Kisii, according to the TSC papers.
The commission’s report states that 4,048 Kelenjins, 3,187 Luhya, 2,913 Kikuyu, 2,576 Luo, and 1,737 Kisii were all recruited.
At the absolute bottom of the list, the communities of Kenya Arabs, Elmolo, and Murulle each received one position.
Each of Ogaden, Dorobo, Rendille, and Sakuye received two spots.
The study states that 36 of the 42 recognized tribes received part of the 20,990 open teaching posts, which means that six villages were unsuccessful in securing even one teaching position.
2. A requirement to hand up a Certificate of Good Conduct
Successful teachers hired as interns will soon be required to produce a certificate of good behaviour.
The issue with the certificate of good conduct requirement was first came to light in 2021 when Prof. Fatuma Chege, Principal Secretary of the State Department for Implementation of Curriculum Reforms, declared that all instructors must obtain the document.
A teacher will not be able to practice their profession under the new curriculum (CBC) unless they possess a Certificate of Good Conduct, claims Chege.
This is only one of the many improvements that will materialize as a result of the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum, which will help inculcate integrity in the educational system, according to Professor Chege.
She claimed that the changes would make it simpler to screen out educators who lacked proper conduct or work ethics.
Additionally, in order to legally teach in private schools, one must first receive the certification.
A certificate of good conduct may be issued by the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), and after one year, it may be renewed.
Additionally, a charge of 1,050 Kenyan Shillings must be paid in order to obtain the document.
3. There are no editing options
Teachers who are using the existing application to apply for internships have found that it is very challenging to update data once it has been input and submitted.
In the past, teachers would go over and correct student data if there were any errors made by the pupils. However, candidates must exercise caution because the available post does not offer such a choice in the current hiring process.