Win for teachers as court quashes TSC program modules

The Labor Court in Nairobi has ended the program development modules from the Teacher Service Commission(TSC) saying they did not conform to the law.

TSC has since been directed to convene a meeting to finalise teacher appraisal tools it had developed by December 1, 2019 for roll out in January 2020.

According to TSC, the performance measurement tool role was to monitor the conduct and performance of teachers in the teaching service.

Under the program, all registered teachers were required to undertake continuous professional development courses to deepen their knowledge in subject of specialization for enhanced learning outcomes.

“The Teachers Professional Development (TPD) modules in dispute shall not be implemented as they fall short of professional development program. This court declares that notice of withdrawal of teachers dated December 2018 is set aside,” the ruling reads.

The move is a big win for teachers as the court directed TSC to undertake teachers promotion in accordance with the relevant provisions and the scheme of services with respect to all teachers eligible to join their union under the prevailing scheme of service and code of regulations.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) had released guidelines on how teachers will be promoted as it introduced a competitive recruitment process for administrative positions.

In the guidelines, promotion of teachers was based on existence of funded vacancies in the approved establishment, minimum qualifications per grade and relevant Teacher Professional Development (TPD) modules.

The court noted that deducting teachers salary so as to undergo training at their own cost so they can be considered for promotion amounts to a criminal offence .

TSC had insisted that all teachers in public and private schools will be required to undertake mandatory Teacher Professional Development (TPD) courses during the school holidays at their own cost.