Ahead of the introduction of Grade 10 Senior School, is TSC planning a massive teacher reshuffle? Find out the answers.
As schools get ready to welcome the first cohort of Senior School students in January, there seems to be an increasing possibility of a significant turnover among secondary school teachers.
The move from junior to senior secondary is described in a recent Ministry of Education publication titled “National Report: County-Based Dialogue on Education Quality and Learning Outcomes in Competency-Based Education (CBE),” which also recommends redeploying instructors to alleviate the present shortages.
The paper advises redistributing instructors according to the unique academic curriculum that each school provides. This could cause thousands of teachers to move between various counties and regions.
It highlights the fact that many schools are experiencing significant deficits, notably in vocational and technical training.
Particularly in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), this shortage is very evident, which calls into question the quality of instruction in secondary schools.
Other specialized courses, like Pre-Technical Studies, Special Needs Education (SNE), and Music in Creative Arts, are also lacking, as the study noted.
If the plan moves forward, it may generate a lot of discussion as the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) attempts to put it into action. Teacher unions and local populations have frequently voiced strong opposition to prior massive transfers.
For instance, after the TSC put a delocalisation policy into effect in 2018 with the goal of fostering national unity by transferring teachers away from their home regions, it was met with significant opposition.
The policy caused issues for many teachers, including family separations, emotional discomfort, financial hardship, and difficulties adjusting to new environments.
The transfers were criticized by the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) at the time, who claimed that they were more of a punishment than an attempt to bring about change and that there wasn’t enough prior discussion.
