The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will lose its major powers to the Ministry of Education starting January 2024.
In the draft report, the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) has listed a number of proposals which will weaken the Commission and empower the Ministry of Education.
TSC will only remain with recruitment, salary payment, transfer and other human resource functions.
However other critical functions like quality assurance, regulation of the teaching profession and teacher discipline will now be done by Ministry of Education.
TSC is created under Article 237 (1) of the Constitution commission with its functions being to recruit, register, employ, deploy, transfer, discipline and terminate teachers contracts.
But following the recommendations TSC would only perform human resource functions and would relinquish regulatory powers to the separate entity.
An amendment through an act of Parliament or referendum would be required to affect the changes to TSC powers.
TSC and the Ministry of Education have been at loggerheads over some functions especially the Quality Assurance and Standards (QAS) as each issued different directives at County levels.
TSC will lose the Quality Assurance and Standards which the education reform team has recommended it to be moved to the Ministry of Education.
The taskforce also want the staff presently performing these functions at the Commission to be transferred.
“Quality Assurance and Standards functions should be transferred from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to the Ministry of Education,” reads the report.
This means that TSC powers might be clipped and a commensurate budget retained at the ministry in radical proposals made by the taskforce.
“The quality assurance and standards function at TSC should be transferred to the Ministry of Education. This harmonisation of QAS functions should be anchored in law,” reads the draft report.
Report further says that the directorate for quality assurance and standards be given powers in law to enable it to enforce laws, regulations, policies and deadlines of ministry.
“The powers shall include but not limited to the power to order the immediate closure of institutions that contravenes set regulations and to establish the system of rewards and sanctions,” reads the report.
The proposal is seen as a major plug to the gaps witnessed in previous years where ministry officials oversaw death of learners and damage of institutions property as there was no clarity on jurisdiction.