Economy

18,000 teachers set for CBC training by Sept reopening

nancy

Teachers Service Commission CEO Nancy Macharia. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA | NMG

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) plans to train 18,000 teachers on competency based curriculum (CBC) in August, a month ahead of the re-opening of schools.

TSC chief executive Nancy Macharia told Parliament the training had been suspended after the government banned gatherings to combat the spread of Covid-19.

"The Commission intends to train 6,000 Grade 3 and Grade 5 teachers, as well as 12,000 special needs education teachers in August 2020, if all goes well," she told the National Assembly Committee on Education.

The teachers’ employer has trained a total of 339,743 teachers on CBC since April, in an exercise that saw the sacking or suspension of over 200 defiant tutors.

The teachers were accused of inciting colleagues against attending the CBC training, which the Ministry of Education and the TSC had organised.

Following the disruptions to the CBC training, the TSC in September sacked 42 teachers, suspended 124 others and issued warning letters to 30 tutors.

In December last year, the Kenya National Union of Teachers called on the TSC to reinstate the teachers since “picketing is a constitutional right”.

The TSC boss yesterday appeared before the House to respond to concerns by Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma on the interdiction of some 245 teachers over allegations of incitement and disruption of CBC teacher-training sessions.

Mr Kaluma had accused the Commission of discriminatingly punishing teachers but in response Ms Macharia explained that some of the accused presented evidence to support their absence.

"Some said they never got the invitation letters to the training while others brought medical reports as part of their mitigation against the disciplinary action, therefore due to the various reasons they brought the cases could not have the same determinations, and in some cases the interdictions were revoked," she said.

She noted that the Commission Disciplinary Committee will be meeting as soon as the government eases the covid-19 containment measures to hear the appeals filed by some 47 teachers.