The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) building in Upper Hill, Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG
What you need to know:
A pilot phase is being implemented in six counties — Kwale, Kitui, Nyeri, Kisumu, Uasin Gishu and Samburu.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is set to implement a new appraisal system for teachers that is expected to help improve performance in public schools. The body also plans to empower teachers, reclaim their lost glory and increase public confidence and support for the profession.
Over the years, concerns have been raised about the low performance of teachers and increased teacher absenteeism in schools that has led to poor student results.
The TSC will on Wednesday officially launch the Teacher Performance and Integrity Initiative. This is a collaborative effort between the TSC and the British Council and will be funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) as part of the UK's aid to Kenya.
Public schools
The project's implementation manager, Joan Ngunnzi, told the Daily Nation that the project aims to improve the performance of teachers and stem the public's diminishing confidence in public schooling.
“The Commission is working to restore confidence in public schools and improve learning outcomes in both primary and secondary schools in this country. We also want to raise awareness on the teachers’ code of regulation and ethics (and) improve the capacity of TSC officials to manage teacher performance both at the national and county levels,” she said.
Ms Ngunnzi added that the project has three domains: knowledge, practice and professional engagement, each with standards that teachers are required to meet.
Professionalism and ethics
She said the project seeks to partner with all teachers to raise their profile and improve performance standards. A pilot phase is being implemented in six counties — Kwale, Kitui, Nyeri, Kisumu, Uasin Gishu and Samburu.
“We have already started disseminating the code of regulations, conduct and ethics to all public schools and holding training on their content and utilisation.
"The training stresses professionalism and ethics, like reducing absenteeism, negligence of duty and other forms of professional misconduct, including child abuse and drug and substance abuse,” Ms Ngunnzi said. In its Teacher Performance and Integrity Survey for April 2014, TSC found a trend of increasing absenteeism in schools.
The Commission’s acting chairperson, Dr Salome Gichura, told a principals meeting in Mombasa in June 2014 during the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (Kessha) conference that it was their responsibility to ensure that teachers went to class. She urged teachers to increase their attention to learners’ performance, demonstrate commitment and teach to the best of their ability to improve the quality of education.
TSC is also implementing a new appraisal system, the Teacher Appraisal and Development (TAD) programme, which will allow teachers to participate in evaluating their own performance.
“The appraisal results will inform professional development of teachers. This will be achieved through a variety of approaches, including monitoring, collaborative preparation, subject panels, in-service courses and peer-assisted learning,” she added. She said the exercise will help make teachers more accountable.
