TSC: Intern teachers to be hired ahead of opening

TSC has announced plans to hire intern teachers. About 12,000 intern teachers will be hired before the reopening of schools in January 2021.

According to TSC, Sh25 billion is required for an effective preparation for schools reopening. In addition, Sh17 billion is required to hire 26,000 teachers to manage high schools registration under the 100% transition. Also Sh8.1 billion is in need for a yearly plan to hire 12,000 teachers to seal the current shortage.

Nancy Macharia, TSC Chief Executive, estimates to employ 12,500 teachers yearly for a period of five years. This will help reduce the shortage of teachers in the country.

Macharia says that the commission requires 50,504 teachers under a normal staffing for support of current staff establishment. She adds that the commission has only hired 23,700 teachers since 2017.

The TSC had been given a budget of Sh2.5 billion to hire 5,000 teachers. In accordance to the Economic Stimulus Program, Sh2.4 billion has been allocated to the commission to hire 12,000 interns.

Macharia tells MPs that it’s urgent to meet the right number of staff members considering the challenges faced due to the pandemic.

On other matters, the Teachers Service Commission plans to train 118,000 teachers next month for Sh1 billion. The training is meant to make certain the new curriculum is executed successfully.

The MPs suggest the need to create a policy on teachers’ promotion that attain required qualifications. They emphasized on fairness when it comes to promotion exercises. Furthermore, they highlighted concern over the shifting of school principals and head teachers. The shifting of teachers from one school to another affects operations of schools, they added.

Moreover, the TSC head says they need Sh60 million to execute the Teacher Induction Mentorship and Coaching (TIMEC) program. This program will permit mentors and mentees to interrelate at an institutional level as they continue to carry out teaching activities.