Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), has told all teachers who are financially able to enroll for teachers’ refresher course, dubbed Teacher Professional Development (TPD) to do so if they are really interested in improving their skills.

Speaking at the KNUT headquarters in Nairobi, KNUT Secretary General Collins Oyuu stated that the programme needs support from parties for it to succeed, and teachers are the major parties.

“The commission is seeking for funds towards the same. In the meantime, all teachers who are capable of financing themselves to pursue the programme should enroll for it since it is a regulatory requirement enshrined in the constitution, “he said.

He further praised the programme, maintaining that it improves the teachers’ pedagogical and management skills as well as learning outcomes, and therefore it needs support from both parties to ensure that it succeeds.

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According to Oyuu, TPD is a requirement in the teaching service and that that KNUT agreed with TSC to organize sensitization workshops to all teachers so as to make them understand TPD and its implementation.

“TPD was structured and rolled out in 2013 through the required statutory laws.It was then an integral part of the 2015 reviewed Code of Regulations for Teachers(CoRT) and finally became a discussant in the 2016-2021 CBA,”said Oyuu.

He further added that the union discovered that the commission did not invest in sensitizing teachers on its need, usefulness, involvement and it benefits.

“In its roll out, some resistance was witnessed from stakeholders and the public majorly because proper sensitization was not carried out,” he added.

Oyuu stated that KNUT leadership should work together with other stakeholders to secure a budgetary allocation particularly to fund the training for all the teachers, since the teachers are currently financially strained having not received any salary award in the recent past.

It is now confirmed that teachers will continue to bear the cost of paying ksh. 6,000 for the teacher professional development (TPD) courses which were initiated by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).

The parliament budgetary allocation committee, headed by Kanini Kega, revealed that the national assembly will not allocate funds for TPD.

“There is no budget provision to cater to training teachers under Teacher Professional Development despite the House having approved a report that recommended the government takes up the cost,” the report reads.

This contradicts the approval of the National Assembly education committee led by Florence Mutua that TPD funds be included in the budget.

“This means teachers will continue to be burdened by the costs associated with this training,” the report reads.

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Teachers Service Commission developed one TPD module for the pioneer class, with the remaining scheduled be achieved in the second half of the year. This  targeted 5,000 teachers, though an additional 20,000 teachers enrolled for the program.

During submission of the commissions’ estimates, TSC finance manager Cheptumo Ayabei said the commission had put that into consideration.

“This is something we thought should be met just like other teachers’ provisions,” he said.

Previously, TSC boss Nancy Macharia said the program is a stand-alone project that needs a separate budget to be factored in.

TPD seeks to help teachers renew their professional certificates after every five years.

The teachers will now be required to undertake in-service professional training lasting for five years and get their certificates renewed.

The professional development will run for 30 years and has six modules each lasting five years.

MPs also questioned the TSC internship policy which requires a trained teacher to be below 35 years for them to be hired as an intern.

“This has disadvantaged teachers who are above this age since priority is given to those teachers who have gone through an internship,” the report reads.

They said the policy has been a disadvantage to teachers above the required age who seek to secure permanent teaching jobs.

Members of the National assembly have asked the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to prepare legal documents which will facilitate the government to pay annual refresher training fees for teachers.

Each of the more than 340,000 teachers countrywide are required to undertake mandatory professional courses which will be used to inform their promotion and professional growth.

Dubbed Teacher Professional Development (TPD), the refresher courses have been organised into chapters that will be taken every year at an annual cost of Sh6,000.

This means that in an entire teaching career, each teacher will be required to take five modules within 30 years, translating to fees of about Sh180,000.

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National Assembly Education Committee members put TSC Chief Executive Nancy Macharia to task for not including the money as a budgetary requirement.

Macharia was also asked to explain how the training fees was arrived at, as MPs argued that even school fees and university fees are highly regulated. “We want to know why TSC has not factored in this money in its budget statement so that it can be an independent budget line funded by the government,” said Florence Mutua, chairperson of the committee.

MPs asked Macharia to prepare and submit a legal framework that would enable government foot the training bills. She had appeared before MPs to defend TSC budget requirements.

Omboko Milemba, who is also Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) chairman said the money ought to be paid by the State through TSC.

“TSC should now go back to prepare a legal document that led to the TPD programme, explain how the training fees was arrived at and also make a requisition for that money,” said Milemba.

MPs argued that all levies are determined by Parliament and sought to know the formula used by TSC to cap the training fees. Macharia said the TPD is anchored in law under Section 35(2) (a) of the TSC Act.

The Act says the commission shall require every registered teacher to undertake career progression and professional development programmes as may be prescribed by regulations made under this Act.

Macharia said Regulation 49(1) says that every teacher who successfully completes a professional teacher development programme and scores required points shall be issued with a teaching certificate by the commission.

And under Regulation 49 (3), a teacher who fails to go through the programme shall have the certificate of registration suspended until the teacher obtains the teaching certificate.

This means that all the teachers will be required to undertake the refresher courses to keep their jobs.

TSC, through a competitive process, picked Kenyatta University, Riara University, Mount Kenya University, and the Kenya Education Management Institute were picked by TSC to train the teachers.