TSC Loses powers as Ministry of Education Assumes Control
TSC Loses powers as Ministry of Education Assumes Control. The Ministry of Education will begin controlling most of the power that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) traditionally exercised in January 2024.
In the draft report, the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) outlines several proposals that will weaken the Commission and bolster the Ministry of Education.
TSC will still be in charge of handling personnel transfers, salary payments, hiring, and other human resource-related responsibilities.
However, other important duties like quality assurance, the supervision of the teaching profession, and teacher discipline will now be handled by the Ministry of Education.
The TSC, a commission whose responsibilities include hiring, registering, deploying, transferring, disciplining, and terminating teacher contracts, is established by Article 237 (1) of the Constitution.
However, if the recommendations were put into effect, TSC would give up its regulatory jurisdiction and focus entirely on human resource management.
The TSC’s authority changes would need to be put into effect by either a legislative act or a popular vote.
Because each agency gave different directions at the county level, the Quality Assurance and Standards (QAS) department has been a point of disagreement between TSC and the Ministry of Education.
Quality Assurance and Standards will now be under the Ministry of Education’s control since TSC will no longer be in charge of them.
The taskforce also wants the individuals who are currently performing these jobs for the Commission to be moved.
The report suggests that the Teachers Service Commission’s (TSC) duties for quality control and standards be transferred to the Ministry of Education.
This suggests that the taskforce’s bold recommendations may limit the authority of the TSC while maintaining equal financing at the ministry.
The Ministry of Education should take up TSC’s responsibilities for defining standards and ensuring quality. According to the draft study, “this harmonization of QAS functions should be grounded in law.”
TSC Loses powers as Ministry of Education Assumes Control
The paper recommends giving the directorate for quality assurance and standards legal authority to enact ministry guidelines, directives, and timelines.
The article states that among the powers that will be provided are the ability to order the immediate closure of institutions that defy accepted norms as well as the ability to create a system of rewards and penalties.
According to the proposal, there are substantial gaps that existed in previous years where ministry officials were responsible for student fatalities and institution property damage due to a lack of jurisdiction.