MPs Begin Process of Changing Teachers Recruitment

Members of the 13th Parliament during President William Ruto's inaugural speech on September 29, 2022..jpg
Members of the 13th Parliament during President William Ruto's inaugural speech on September 29, 2022.
Photo
The National Assembly

The National Assembly Committee on Education has revealed plans to conduct an audit on the process of recruiting teachers spearheaded by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC)

According to the Committee’s Chair, Julius Melly, the committee will be seeking to point out flaws within the process in a bid to improve future recruitment. 

Melly stated that the committee was looking to ensure that future exercises are free and fair, amid past allegations of corruption and fraud in the recruitment process. 

Tinderet Member of Parliament Julius Melly during a past session in parliament.
Tinderet Member of Parliament Julius Melly during a past session in parliament.
National Assembly

The chairman further stated that his committee will interview various stakeholders as the members aim at gathering insights to help in streamlining the process.

"We believe that this is a process and there is always room for improvement on how the process can be done better next time," he told the Nation

On Wednesday, January 11, Melly revealed plans by the Kenya Kwanza Administration to eliminate compartmentalisation in Kenya's education system. 

Melly stated that his committee was pushing for a departure from the system where teachers were only eligible for employment to teach levels of education, to one where teachers have the competencies required to teach at any grade within Kenya's education system.

He added that the government was looking to address the deficit in the number of teachers required to roll out the Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC) by making the school system seamless.  

We want to destroy the education system of compartmentalization and come up with a system where teachers can run across the school system e.g. a grade 7 or 8 teacher who can teach up to grade 12,” he stated. 

If actualised, the government aims to conduct capacity building for the teachers as a way to ensure that teachers have their competencies updated to match contemporary requirements. 

The move would see teachers trained to work in secondary schools work in junior secondary schools in the new curriculum. 

Melly noted that the new system would also help to save costs that would be incurred in subsequent recruitments of teachers that would be required to implement the changes in Kenya's education system. 

"If they are in secondary school and you bring them to come and train as tutors for grade one to grade six it will not take long, it is actually honing the skills of existing graduates," he stated. 

Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu appears before the Commitee on Education on November 22, 2022.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu appears before the Committee on Education on November 22, 2022.
Ministry of Education
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