HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 1106759,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1106759/?format=api",
"text_counter": 33,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Emuhaya, ANC",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Omboko Milemba",
"speaker": {
"id": 13328,
"legal_name": "Jeremiah Omboko Milemba",
"slug": "jeremiah-omboko-milemba"
},
"content": " I, the undersigned, on behalf of Messers Moses Mbora, Francis Yivo and Justus Nyakundi, being representatives of the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), Nairobi Branch and other concerned teachers across the country, draw the attention of the House to the following: THAT, on 22nd September 2021, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) rolled out the Teacher Professional Development (TPD) undertaken by all practising teachers every five years as mandatory refresher modules for renewal of certification; THAT, despite the fact that teachers are directly affected by the TPD policy, the Teachers Service Commission did not involve teachers in the preparation of the policy framework for the TPD and its subsequent roll-out, contrary to the mandatory requirements of Article 232 (1) (d) of the Constitution; THAT, without consultations with teachers, the TSC committed teachers to personally meet the burden of paying Kshs6,000.00 for each module of the TPD Programme, or a total of Kshs180,000.00 for the entire programme; THAT, the Teachers Service Commission has not made public to the teachers of this country and other stakeholders in the education sector the considerations it based on in arriving at the above exorbitant cost per module; THAT, it is in public domain that teachers are underpaid, most of them have stagnated at the same job group for a period varying between 10 and 20 years and, with the recently signed non-monetary Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), it is insensitive for the TSC to require underpaid teachers to pay a whopping Kshs180,000 for a certification programme; THAT, fair international labour practices demand that an employer who comes up with compulsory employees’ capacity strengthening programmes should shoulder the attendant cost of the training; THAT, in unclear circumstances and notwithstanding the existence of reputable public universities countrywide, TSC selected only four education institutions namely, Riara University, Mount Kenya University, Kenyatta University and the Kenya Education Management Institute (KEMI), all based in Nairobi region to run the TPD Programme for teachers drawn from all over the country; THAT, given the nature of basic education as a mandatory public good guaranteed under the Constitution, professional development of teachers ought to be approached holistically and the certification process standardised under the ambit of the Ministry of Education and not the Teachers Service Commission; THAT, the decision by TSC to manage teachers’ professional development and regulate the teaching profession is a departure from the established practice where professions have self- regulatory mechanisms and bodies that are distinct from employers; THAT, to achieve a well-coordinated and holistic approach, the Teacher Professional Development Programme ought to have been integrated in the ongoing capacity strengthening programmes for teachers on the Competency Based Curriculum so as to avoid duplication of Government effort, waste of public resources and subjecting teachers to bearing the burden of a mandatory programme; THAT, if the TSC is not restrained from implementing the Teacher Professional Development Programme, the rights of teachers and stakeholders under Article 232(1) (d) of the Constitution stand the risk of being prejudiced; THAT, the matters raised in this Petition are not pending before any court of law, constitutional or legal body; The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}