The Teachers Service Commission is seeking to effect a key legislation change in a move aimed at making teaching career more professional here in Kenya. The new TSC Amendment Bill, 2024, wants teachers who fail to undertake the mandatory ongoing TPD programs to be barred from teaching in both public and private schools. The move by the TSC aims to raise standards in teaching and ensure that the practitioners are abreast of the latest methodologies and trends in education.
Continuous Professional Development: A Global Standard
The TSC initiative is also in line with emerging global best practices, where continuous professional development has been tagged as mandatory for practicing teachers. This means any time, teachers will be abreast of up-to-date knowledge and skills for the better delivery of education to their students. The TSC is therefore of the view that only through sustained in-service training and development can the teaching profession maintain high standards of teaching and keep pace with the changing needs of the education sector.
Implementation and Impact
The law elicited mixed reactions from teachers and stakeholders in general. To some, it is a positive step towards improving the quality of education, while to others, it lacks the ingredients necessary for quality education due to its nature of implementation, which will negatively affect teachers in remote areas.
Support for the Bill
Opponents argue that continual professional development will raise the teaching profession and ensure educators are better equipped to manage the challenges of modern education. This programs require continuous training in order that its workforce is dynamic, responsive, and effective in embracing innovative trends and technologies in education.
Concerns and Challenges
There are also grave and important considerations concerning the law’s implementing measures. TPD programmes will logistically and infrastructure-wise stretch teachers in remote and underserved areas. Other issues include the cost and time needed for continuous professional development, which can be burdensome to the teacher to complete and do compliance tasks of modules.
Legislative Process and Potential Outcomes
The TSC is sensitive to making this proposal more attractive and acceptable in the education sector. In case the bill goes through Parliament, subsequently assented to by the President, it will automatically become law, hence making any TPD program mandatory to all practicing teachers at the expense of losing their licenses.
Mixed Reactions from the Teaching Community
It is for that matter that the proposal by TSC has managed to elicit varied reactions from the teaching fraternity and education stakeholders:
- Positive Feedback: Some educators and other key stakeholders hope that desirably, the mandatory TPD will realize better teaching standards and subsequently improved educational outcomes. They consider the bill as a necessary step to professionalizing teaching and ensuring that educators are committed to the pursuit of constant improvement of their skills and knowledge.
- Negative Feedback: There are, however, qualms regarding the feasibility and fairness of the proposed legislation. For instance, financial constraints and limited access to training resources may make it hard, especially for teachers in rural areas, to meet the new requirements.