TPD Not Intended To Punish Teachers – TSC
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has disputed claims that the Teachers Professional Development (TPD) is intended to punish teachers.
TSC Chief Executive Officer Dr Macharia sought to reassure teachers that the refresher courses are not intended to punish them, but rather to equip them with skills to deal with global trends and improve their skills.
Teachers will part with about 6 000 shillings every year for a six-year professional training in order to be issued with a professional teaching certificate apart from what they acquired in university.
The teaching certificate will be renewed after every five years. TSC said it will employ innovative assessment strategies such as reflective journals, portfolios and presentations to carry out the program.
At the end of each module teachers who are successful will have their teaching certificates renewed after every five years. TSC says teachers who fail to train will have licences revoked
TSC Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia stated on Wednesday that the move is intended to improve Kenyan teachers’ professional standards as well as keep them up to date on emerging trends in the education sector.
TPD, she explained, is a life-long learning program divided into six hierarchical competency levels, with each level taking five years to complete.
“At the end of each module, successful teachers will have their teaching certificates renewed after every five years,” she said.
Macharia stated that in order to participate in this program, every teacher registered with the commission will be required to identify and register with one of the accredited service providers.
She urged teachers to embrace it, claiming that it benefits them in line with its goals.
Mount Kenya University, Kenyatta University, Riara University, and Kenya Education Management Institute have so far been accredited by the commission to carry out the program.
In 2016, the Commission implemented Performance Contracting for Institutional Heads and Teacher Performance Appraisal and Development (TPAD) for teachers, with the goal of strengthening curriculum implementation and accountability in resource utilization to improve learning outcomes.
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Teacher unions had previously urged the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to recall the performance appraisal tools, claiming that the exercise had caused teachers anxiety.
There were also concerns that the tool could be used to target teachers for promotion and unfairly blame them for poor performance.
TPD Not Intended To Punish Teachers – TSC
Macharia, on the other hand, stated that the quality of education has improved since the implementation of TPAD.
