The Teachers Service Commission (TSC), on Tuesday, August 22, refuted widespread reports alleging that it planned to demote primary school headteachers lacking a bachelor's degree.
It further watered down a news article claiming that TSC embarked on a new data collection operation to weed out the teachers with P1 certificates and diplomas.
“We wish to inform the public to ignore this fake article being circulated through social media,” TSC stated.
The false and misleading report was propagated from a proposal made by the President’s Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER, that nursery, primary and junior schools be led by one principal.
“Ministry of Education to adopt a Comprehensive School system (PP1 — Grade 9) comprising Pre-Primary, Primary school and Junior School managed as one institution. The term “Secondary” be dropped from the current Junior Secondary and Senior Secondary Schools,” PWPER had recommended.
The proposal sparked fear among teachers who argued that the changes would force headteachers to advance in their studies.
However, PWPER, in its recommendation to President William Ruto, had not proposed a demotion of teachers based on new academic requirements.
Instead, the task force advised the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with TSC, to implement a one-year mandatory retooling program for all pre-service training graduates to comply with the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) to develop and retain effective teachers.
TSC will also need to employ three deputies in each school but is yet to release details of the teachers who will be promoted according to years of service or through academic grades.
The Commission reportedly requested school administrators to include information such as their greatest level of education (P1, Degree, Masters) in an Excel file.
Assuring the public, TSC maintains that this request is not geared towards rewarding teachers with the highest academic qualifications.
TSC discontinued employing teachers with a primary school certificate and set a new requirement of a Diploma in Primary Education.
Teachers who had been employed with a certificate are encouraged to advance their studies, as TSC, by 2024, will permanently stop employing P1 teachers.
