Bid to cut teacher colleges entry grade withdrawn

The Teachers Service Commission has agreed with the Ministry of Education to withdraw a notice seeking to lower entry grades for teachers training colleges.

In a consent filed in court, TSC reached the deal with the Ministry withdrawing Legal Notice No118 of 2018 titled the Kenya National Qualification Framework regulations 2018.

The notice had given the Cabinet Secretary for Education and the Kenya National Qualification Authority (KNQA) the powers to review standards for education and training of persons intending to join the teaching profession.

But in the consent, which is to be adopted in court, the notice is revoked and a legal notice published in 2016 remains in force.

The parties appeared before Justice Chacha Mwita Monday but the case was pushed to March 4, when they will appear before him and adopt the consent. Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) had challenged the lowering of grades last year but later withdrew the case only for TSC to challenge the same. The court had initially directed the Ministry and TSC to harmonise the framework to allow admissions to the 27 TTCs across the country. Education CS and KNQA lowered the entry grades to give a chance to some 3,265 applicants from marginalised counties join the TTCs as part of affirmative action. The counties include Lamu, Tana River, Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Marsabit, Isiolo, Turkana, Samburu and West Pokot.

The authority lowered the minimum admission requirements for diploma and certificate entry to D (plain) for certificate, C-(minus) for Diploma, and C+ (plus) for degree.

The CS had explained that Article 56 of the constitution obligates the government to put in place affirmative action programmes designed to ensure that minorities and marginalized groups are provided special opportunities in economic and education fields.

But Kuppet argued that there were more than 200,000 qualified teachers who had not been absorbed, who should be posted to the marginalized areas.