TSC CEO Evaleen Mitei at Sheikh Zayed Hall in Mombasa on Thursday / JOHN CHESOLI
The Teachers Service Commission has developed a
new staffing norm as part of the education reforms being undertaken by the
ministry to improve the quality of education in the country.
The new staffing norm, which aligns with the
requirements of CBE, will help provide equitable access to and quality
education for all learners in the country, TSC CEO Evaleen Mitei said.
Speaking to heads of senior schools during the 49th
Kenya Senior School Heads Association annual national conference in Mombasa,
Mitei said there are schools with excess teachers while others have no
teachers.
However, she said they are yet to roll out the new
staffing norm as they are still fine-tuning it.
She called on the senior school heads not to hold
on to teachers that they do not need.
“While it is still being looked at, we expect that this will help us to rationalise teachers. There are schools that still have excess teachers within their institutions, while your neighbours have no teachers. This is an area we are calling upon you to help us so that we can be able to have teachers optimally utilised,” Mitei said.
She said this will help every learner in the
country to have access to a teacher.
The TSC boss said the new staffing norm will help
address the teacher shortage while improving learner-teacher ratios.
“Through this intervention, TSC contributes to
equity, inclusion and improved learning outcomes particularly in the
marginalised and starved areas,” Mitei said.
Baringo North MP Joseph Makilap, a member of the
National Assembly Education committee, said the teacher shortage problem has
been a key priority area for the Kenya Kwanza administration.
He said President William Ruto has been keen on improving the teacher-learner ratio in the country so as to improve the quality of education.
“We are undergoing a transition as a country in education,” Makilap said.
He said Ruto’s administration is the only
government that will have employed over 120,000 teachers within five years.
“This is something that has never been done by any
other president apart from President William Ruto,” Makilap said.
Kessha chair Willie Mwangi said the CBE has new
subjects that require new teachers.
He said new learning
areas like maritime and fisheries studies require teachers with unique skills
that are currently in short supply.
“That is why the
need for retooling and recruitment is greater than ever before,” Mwangi said.
He called for
increased efforts in the continuous of retooling of teachers, a matter that
Mitei said is ongoing as the ministry is committed to ensuring the success of
the CBE.
“We have a new teacher development framework.
We have improved it and we are ready to roll out,” Mitei said.
She said there is a growing need for
specialized skills among teachers because of the demands of the CBE and the
ministry is keen on ensuring it is successful.
