Blow to TSC As Gov’t Strips Its Powers In New Proposal
If the recommendations made in the final report by the education reform committee are followed, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will lose much of its authority.
Article 237 (1) of the Constitution establishes the TSC, a commission whose duties include hiring, registering, deploying, transferring, disciplining, and terminating teacher contracts.
The taskforce now wants to establish a distinct entity and give it the authority to regulate the teaching profession.
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This indicates that TSC would give up its regulatory authority to a different organisation and limit its activities to human resources.
According to sources, in order to change the TSC’s powers, a parliamentary act or referendum would need to be passed.
Additionally, it was decided to centralise and harmonise the Quality Assurance and Standards (QAS) responsibilities now carried out by TSC.
Similar duties are also carried out by the Ministry of Education, and task force participants learned that TSC would lose this mandate under upcoming changes in order to prevent redundancy.
Given that each organisation provided conflicting instructions at the County levels, TSC and the Ministry of Education have been at odds over these duties.
Also Read: Good News To Nursery School Teachers As TSC to Hire Them
The task committee is now requesting that the government make sure that QAS is based in the ministry and has sole jurisdiction to regulate the operations of all institutions of basic education.
The meeting was informed that the “Directorate of Quality Assurance and Standards should be granted operational powers in law to enable it to enforce laws, policies, and guidelines of the ministry and any other Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) that pertain to basic education institutions.”
A review of the National Education Quality Assurance and Standards Framework (NEQASF), which would compile and publish widely accepted educational standards for simple access by all stakeholders, was also proposed during the meeting.
A decision to lower the entry grade to teacher training institutes was also considered, according to sources at the meeting, and moving ahead, several adjustments were proposed to streamline training.
In addition to revising the capitation disbursement scheme, it was also suggested to establish a TVET Commission that would be in charge of all personnel matters for the employees of middle-level colleges.
Additionally, Team wants TSC to hire nursery teachers, a job currently carried out by county governments.
Blow to TSC As Gov’t Strips Its Powers In New Proposal
