The online training of teachers at the institution on the Teacher Professional Development (TPD) ended yesterday.
The introductory module entered its second session in Mount Kenya University (MKU),
However the low number of teachers attending the training has forced the institution to set new dates for virtual training.
The five day training of teachers at the MKU started on 4th April. MKU is the first university to start the 2022 April training.
MKU has scheduled the new training dates to Tuesday 19th to Saturday 23rd April 2022.
TSC picked Mount Kenya, Riara and Kenyatta universities together with Kenya Education Management Institute (KEMI) to offer the training.
KEMI will start training teachers on Monday next week. The Institute has scheduled the 2nd online session from 11th-14th April 2022.
The institution management said its mandated under Legal Notice No.19/2010 to provide Education Management Training, conduct Research and offer Consultancy Services in the Education Sector which include TPD.
The low number of teachers attending the TPD training can be attributed to a number of reasons.
1. Parliamentary recommendation
Last month the Members of Parliament (MPs) called for an immediate stop to the TPD courses until proper stakeholders’ consultations are undertaken.
The legislatures also asked for government to pay the sh. 6,000 training fee and the list of institutions offering the refresher courses expanded.
“If the Commission is not restrained from implementing the TPD programme, the rights of teachers and stakeholders under Article 232(1)(d) of the constitution stand the risk of being prejudiced,” said National Assembly Education Committee chairperson Florence Mutua in a report she signed on March 1, 2022.
Following the directive teachers thought the programme has been halted till further notice. Most of them were not prepared for the training.
However TPD service providers on TSC blessings went ahead and planned for the April training.
Some teachers have interpreted this as greed by the institutions to earn from their hard earned cash.
2. The national KCSE marking exercise
Some teachers are not available for the ongoing trainings because they are occupied else where with official issues like marking of the KCSE exams.
3. Cash Crunch
Teachers especially those in lower cadre, grades B5, C1 and C2, are hard hit with inflation and are struggling to feed their families and to finance their loans.
The economy is not good right now with some places experiencing severe drought, TPD isn’t good news for teachers in this condition.
Teachers are still required to pay sh. 6,000 as capacity building fee.
According to TSC teachers who will attend the training will be issued with a teaching certificate which is a license for them to teach.
The Commission said the certificate will be issued after a teacher has successfully completed a TPD module.
One TPD module contains five chapters. Each chapter takes five years. In total there are six TPD modules. These will take 30 years for one complete.