Teachers To Continue Paying For Sh6,000 TPD Refresher Courses Despite Budget Approval.
Teachers will continue to pay Sh6,000 for refresher courses sponsored by the Teachers Service Commission.
The National Assembly budget committee, led by Kanini Kega, revealed that no budget allocation had been made for the same.
This is despite parliament having approved a report recommending that the government bear the cost of training teachers under Teacher Professional Development.
The inclusion in the budget was approved by the National Assembly education committee, led by Florence Mutua.
“This means teachers will continue to be burdened by the costs associated with this training,” the report reads.
The Teachers Service Commission created one TPD module; the others will be completed in the second half of the year.
The commission intended to train 5,000 teachers, but 20,000 more signed up for the program.
TSC finance manager Cheptumo Ayabei stated that the commission had taken this into account when submitting the commissions’ estimates.
“This is something we thought should be met just like other teachers’ provisions,” he said.
Previously, TSC CEO Nancy Macharia stated that the program is a stand-alone project that requires its own budget.
TPD aims to assist teachers in renewing their professional certificates every five years.
Teachers will now be required to complete five years of in-service professional training and have their certificates renewed.
The professional development will last 30 years, with six modules lasting five years each.
MPs also questioned the TSC internship policy, which states that a trained teacher must be under the age of 35 in order to be hired as an intern.
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According to the report, this has disadvantaged teachers over this age because priority is given to teachers who have completed an internship.
They claimed that the policy has harmed teachers over the required age who are looking for permanent teaching jobs.
