The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) on Tuesday announced new guidelines for recruiting teachers in the country.
This year’s recruitment will see 11, 474 fresh graduates and retired teachers fill vacancies and replace those who have exited the profession in both primary and secondary public schools.
The race to fill the gap and balance the teacher-to-student ratio in public schools in the country will be taking course in the next two weeks as the teachers’ employer seeks to recruit 5000 graduates.
An additional 6, 474 tutors will also be employed to replace teachers that for various reasons have quit the profession.
But it’s the peculiar challenge of the teacher exodus from the North Eastern counties of Wajir, Mandera and Garissa witnessed in the recent years that provides for a new formula in the recruitment process.
And now, to fill, the gap in the region that is considered marginalised, teachers who have retired have been asked to apply for fresh contracts.
In addition, and unlike other regions in the country, recruitment of teachers in the three counties will remain open for the rest of the year.
Early this year and late last year, at least some 2,000 non-local teachers working in Wajir, Garissa and Mandera counties were withdrawn by the commission over a series of attacks targeting non-local teachers.
At the time, TSC said 32 teachers had been killed by suspected Al Shabaab militants within a period of five years.
In the new guidelines, those intending to land the jobs are required to submit their applications to the secretary of the commission through the TSC online platform for the county where a vacancy has been declared.
The applicants must be registered teachers as per section 23(1) of the Teachers Service Commission Act of 2012.
The commission said alrl applicants irrespective of gender, disability, ethnicity or home county will be given equal opportunity.
However, in case of a tie, consideration will be given on various aspects in their order of priority, key among them; applicants living with disabilities, service as a teacher intern, applicants who had not previously been employed by the commission as well as attainment of highest grade in teaching practice.
The Teachers Service Commission(TSC) is advertising 5,000 posts for recruitment of Secondary School teachers to support the 100 percent transition policy from Primary to Secondary Schools.
Teachers to be recruited will serve on permanent and pensionable terms.
Interested and qualified candidates should submit their application online through TSC website www.tsc.go.ke under careers or teachersonline.go.ke not later than 14th September, 2020.
Recruitment of secondary school teachers(4,000 posts)
Eligible candidates should meet the following basic requirements:
(i) Be Kenya citizens;
(iii) Must have a holder of at-least diploma in education.
(iv) Must be registered with the Teachers Service Commission.
Promotion and deployment of practising primary school teachers in public schools (1,000)
To qualify for promotion and deployment to secondary school, a candidate should meet the following requirement;
i) Be Kenyan Citizen;
ii) PI Certificate;
iii) Bachelor’s Degree in Education with 2 teaching subjects;
iv) Must have minimum mean grade C+ (Plus) at Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) or its equivalent and minimum C+ (Plus) in the two teaching subjects.
Successful candidates under this category shall be appointed at T-Scale 7- Grade C2 and shall be posted to secondary schools where vacancies exist.
Recruitment of primary school teachers(1,000)
(i) Be Kenya citizens;
(ii) Must have original Professional and Academic Certificates;
(iii) Must be registered with the Teachers Service Commission.
Successfully candidates shall be posted to serve in any part of the country not necessarily in the county where they were recruited.
It is important to note that the Teachers Service Commission is an equal opportunity employer and persons with disabilities (PWDs) are encouraged to apply.
General information;
Applicants should note the following;
To qualify for appointment on permanent and pensionable terms of service, a candidate should be eligible to serve for a minimum period of ten(10) continuous years effective from date of appointment as required by law
The teachers Service Commission 2020/2021 Recruitment Guidelines Shall apply.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Shortlisted candidates will be required to produce original academic and professional certificates.
Successful candidates must not fill more than one application for employment form. Filling of more than one application for employment forms will lead to disqualification.
Manual application will not be accepted.
Preference will be made to candidates who have not been previously employed by the Teachers Service Commission.
CAUTION:
The recruitment exercise is free of charge. The Teachers Service Commission wishes to caution applicants against fraudsters who are out to extort money from unsuspecting individuals purporting to be in a position to influence the employment process.
Any fraudulent activity should be reported to the nearest police station, or to Teachers Service Commission headquarters through the following hotlines between 8.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m.
Write to the Commission through the email address dirtm@tsc.go.ke
For detailed information on available vacancies in Secondary Schools applicants are advised to:
a) Visit TSC Website www.tsc.go.ke
b) Visit TSC County and/or Sub County offices where they wish to apply for the advertised positions.
In a sit down with KTN News, the lecturer of the unnamed Kenyan university identified only as Frank Lumumba disclosed that he had faced hardship raising two-month rent as well as putting a meal on his table and had to take up odd jobs to make ends meet.
He further hinted that he was forced to sell some of his household items as the pandemic affected the country’s economy and paralysed various industries moreso, education.
“As you can see now, you realise my TV, a 32 inch, is missing. There was a microwave there, there was fridge there. Now when you look around, they are not there.
“The house rent itself has become a problem, For the last two weeks, I was doing mjengo (construction work) because you know they are quite available,” he explained noting that he had two months rent arrears.
The video shows the lecturer carrying heavy stones at a quarry in the hopes that at the end of the day, he would make enough earnings to afford him the daily meal.
His supervisor at the site praised Lumumba’s bravery in opting to take the job despite his academic qualifications.
“You cannot be picky with jobs. Whatever is present is what we carry out which is why I like Lumumba. He did not look at his qualifications he just looks at the work,” stated the site supervisor, Anthony Oduor.
Lumumba is just one of the many part time lecturers whose woes have piled up way after the Covid-19 pandemic struck the country.
In 2019, it was not uncommon for the lecturers to hold protests after decrying delayed payments forcing most of them to live as paupers despite hard work.
According to complaints lodged at the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU), some part time lecturers have pay deficits that date as far back as 2013.
“Part-time lectures who are teaching at the university are not being paid. The same goes for Technical University of Kenya, JKuat and even the University of Nairobi. These lecturers are suffering across all public universities,” Uasu Secretary General Constantine Wasonga was quoted in 2018.
Lumumba appealed to the state to intervene and help lecturers in private institutions.
He further argued that e-learning was not a fair means of dispensing knowledge by universities since a sizeable number of university goers could not afford laptops.
Education CS George Magoha has alerted parents to brace themselves for earlier school resumption dates if the Coronavirus (Covid-19) curve flattens in the next two or three weeks.
The CS spoke while assessing the level of preparedness at the Wote Technical Training College in Makueni County on Friday, August 28.
Magoha stated that the Covid-19 committee will meet to prepare new reopening dates if the curve flattens in a fortnight or three weeks.
“We are observing the curve and when it hits 5% in the next three weeks, we then can sit down and make hard decisions together.
“We really must get our children to schools. We want to see whether we can reopen earlier and conditions will determine,” Magoha alerted.
However, he reiterated that the choice to reopen schools was solely based on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s decision.
Magoha further criticised technical and vocational training institutions countrywide for not hastening and preparing themselves for resumption.
He urged institution heads to rely on youths under the Kazi Mtaani initiative to prepare schools as they offered cheap labour rather than having schools incur extra costs.
The CS also disclosed that he was working in tandem with his Interior Ministry colleague Fred Matiang’i to curb corruption against public resources designated towards reopening of schools.
“We are creating a system where every public secondary school gets between 50 and 100 desks. However, we are going to implement this with the help of the Interior Ministry to ensure no public money is lost and also have onboard all youth leaders in every sub-county,” the CS stated.
On Tuesday, August 25, he hinted that schools might re-open before January 2021 as planned. Magoha scrapped off the entire 2020 academic year and cancelled the KCPE and KCSE exams.
He, however, has been under pressure from Parliament, the World Health Organisation and a section of education stakeholders to reopen schools before September 2020.
In a circular Wednesday to Regional Coordinators of Education and County Directors of Education, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Education Dr. Richard Belio Kipsang says the data used for this capitation was extracted from National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) earlier this month.
In regards to payment of salaries to school employees, he said in January 2020, the Ministry of Education released 50% of FDSE funds to schools which included P.E funds up to June 2020. In this regard he said Ksh 3,226 per learner should be utilized in the payment of salaries to non-teaching staff, water and electricity bills as well as administrative costs up to December 2020.
On utilization of maintenance and improvement funds, the PS said a total annual allocation for Maintenance and Improvement (M&l) was Ksh 5,000 of which Ksh 4,000 was disbursed in January 2020. He noted that an additional Ksh 500.00 per learner has been released to enable schools prepare for re-opening in January 2021 to conform to COVID-19 guidelines.
Consequently, he noted that the contents of a circular dated 26th November 2019 on the amounts for M&l will change to Ksh 4,500.00.
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Dr Kipsang said the Ministry of Education will support teachers employed by the Boards of Management (BOMs) as at 15th March 2020 for six months only form July to December 2020 by paying them Ksh.10,000.00 per month.
“Each teacher must sign for the money personally and records kept for later auditing. Payment should be made monthly and not in advance, Schools with BOM teachers will receive a separate commensurate disbursement based on the data obtained from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) in to their operation account. Only teachers with TSC numbers will benefit from this package. This circular supersedes the one dated 20th August, 2020.” He said
He further stated that Edu Afya medical cover for students in public secondary schools is operational and principals are required to advise students accordingly and offer support to learners/parents whenever they encounter any challenge with their UPI.
He said all principals must acknowledge receipt of funds by issuing official school receipts to the Principal Secretary, State Department of Early Learning and Basic Education for both Tuition and Operation Accounts with copies to the Sub County Directors (SCDEs) and County Directors of Education (CDEs); acknowledging receipt of funds through NEMIS by uploading a copy of the official receipt for both accounts where applicable; providing to the County Director of Education through the Sub- County Director of Education an allocation of funds dully signed by individual students and having Individual students sign form-lists that show their admission numbers and full names as in the admission register and the amount awarded. These lists should be attached to the payment voucher kept in the school as per procedure and every student issued with a school official receipt for the allocation.
He specified that this must be accomplished within two weeks of receipt of funds, failure to which further release of grants to such schools will be suspended.
“It is the responsibility of every County Director and Sub-County Director of Education to authenticate and monitor the accuracy of enrolment data of their schools as reflected in NEMIS. All County Directors of Education are asked to circulate the contents of this letter to all principals of public secondary schools within their jurisdiction.” He added.
Justice James Makau has temporarily stopped Education CS George Magoha from implementing the Community Based Learning Project that was to be launched countrywide.
He certified urgent a case filed by a parent seeking to bar Magoha from implementing community based learning.
Joseph Aura had argued as a parent since the state ordered for closure of schools due to Covid-19 in March, his children and others across the country have been at home indefinitely.
He also wanted the CS compelled to reopen schools for third term.
“I have lodged these proceedings as a parent on behalf of my children and on behalf of millions of voiceless children enrolled similarly in learning institutions across the country,” Aura says.
The father of three says in-person learning is the best when it comes to the education of children rather than virtual or any other method.
Aura wants the court to order Magoha reopen all schools from September this year for the next academic term.
He further wants the court to compel Health CS Mutahi Kagwe to reopen of all play areas and recreational centres for all children across the country.
“The oppressive psychological and mental torture inflicted on the school going children because of the open-ended closure of schools effected by the ministry from March till now has gravely injured them,” reads the court documents.
Through Lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui, Aura says many countries who had high number of Covid-19 cases have since reopened their schools and Kenya should also follow suit.
Some of counties he cited include France, Japan, Nigeria, Tanzania, Senegal, Gambia, Namibia, Ghana among others even though some opened partially for finalists.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged African countries to make quick arrangement that will see schools reopen to save children from suffering.
Commenting on the matter, UNICEF regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Mohamed M. Malick Fall, said that the long-term impact of extending the school shutdown caused harm to the children’s future.
“When we balance the harm being done to children locked out of schools, and if we follow the evidence, it leads children back into the classroom,” Malick stated.
WHO regional director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti stated that schools paved way for success for many Africans as well as provided a safe haven for children in challenging situations.
“We must not be blind-sided by our efforts to contain Covid-19 and end up with a lost generation. Just as countries are opening businesses safely, we can reopen schools,” he said.
Education CS George Magoha has insisted that learning will take place under the Community Based Learning program. TSC data shows that at least 225,000 teachers have registered for the program. The education CS also said the Community Based Learning has no official syllabus but its upon the teacher to decide on the content.
As you are aware, re-opening of Educational Institutions within the context of Covid-19 requires adequate preparations by the Education Sector, line Ministries, County Governments, Institution Managers, Administrators, Teachers, Parents and Religious Organizations to work in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health.
In view of the above, the Ministry of Education intends to carry out risk assessment for suitability and readiness to re-open Institutions. The focus will be on space, safety, health of learners, teachers and non-teaching staff. Schools will be required to avail required data and information as per the risk assessment checklist attached. The Teams will visit both Secondary and Primary Schools within the County.
The purpose of this letter is to inform you of the monitoring exercise that will begin from 23August,2020 as per the attached schedule. The teams from the Ministry will report to your offices for directions and collaboration.
Allfield officers are asked to work closely with Public and Private Basic education institutions to ensure compliance with the Health and Safety protocols.
The Ministry of Education and TSC using a multi-agency approach and in collaboration with Ministry of Interior and Coordination National Government through the Nyumba Kumi initiative will implement the community based learning as from September 2020.
This is a follow up to extensive consultations with all stakeholders in the Education sector on community- based learning as a means of engaging learners during the current period of Covid 19 pandemic.
• To enable smooth running of the programme, detailed Guidelines have been developed to facilitate the roll out of the programme
• The guidelines will cover establishment of Community Based learning committees, mapping of learners, mapping of teachers, identification of venues, content and assessment as well as supervision and monitoring
What is community based learning?
• Community based learning approach is where learners are meaningfully engaged to learn within their communities.
• The purpose of establishing community based learning is to engage learners during the COVID – 19 schools’ closure.
Establishment of CBL Implementation Committee
Composition of CBL Committees
• The implementation of community based learning will be done by multispectral committees based at
• the County level,
• Sub County level and
• the Zone.
The committees will draw their membership from the following government agencies:
• Ministry of Education
• Teachers’ service commission
• Ministry of Health
• Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government
• County Government
County community based learning committee
The county committee will consist of the following members
• County Commissioner
• Education CEC
• County Director of Education
• TSC County Director
• County Quality Assurance Officer
• County Ministry of Health Officer
• The county committee will be co-chaired by the County Director of
Education and the TSC County Director.
The role of the County CBL committee
• Monitor the implementation of CBL
• Receive weekly reports on CBL from the sub county
• Submit Weekly report to MOE
Sub County CBL committee
The county committee will consist of the following members
• Deputy County Commissioner
• Sub County Director of Education
• TSC Sub County Director
• Sub County Quality Assurance Officer
• Sub County Ministry of Health Officer
The Sub County Committee will be co-chaired by the Sub County
Director of Education and TSC Sub-county.
The role of the Sub County CBL committee
• Establishment of the zone committees.
• Oversee mapping of teachers at the zone
• Oversee mapping of learners at the zone
• Oversee Identification of venues
• Assess the suitability of identified venues
• Monitor the implementation of CBL
• Receive weekly reports on CBL from the Zone
• Submit weekly reports to the County office
Zone CBL committee
The Zone committee will consist of the following members
• Curriculum support officer
• Area Chief
• Ministry of Health Officer
• Nyumba kumi initiative leaders
The Zonal committee will be coordinated by the Ministry of Education and chaired by the CSO.
The role of the Zone CBL committee
• Sensitize the parents and community on the CBL programme
• Orient teachers on the programme
• Identify the venues and assess their suitability for learning
• Map learners in the Nyumba Kumi area within the zone
• Allocate teachers to the learners in their respective Nyumba kumi area
• Supervise the implementation of CBL at the zone
• Submit weekly reports to the Sub County office
Mapping of Learners
The zonal implementation committee shall carry out the following:
Sensitize the parents within the Nyumba Kumi and the community
Allocate learners to identified venues.
Allocate teachers to venues.
Orient the teachers.
Supervise the implementation of CBL.
The chiefs will assist in making sure that all the learners within their areas of jurisdiction participate in the program.
2. Where there are already existing on line learning programs the CBL
committees should take note and monitor learner engagement.
The committee will maintain the following:
An accurate record of all learners mapped
Record of activities planned for and implemented.
Records of teachers implementing the program.
Identification of Venues
• The zonal CBL committee will identify the venues on the following parameters:
Identify venues and assess their suitability guided by the MOH protocols.
All venues should be public and free of charge for use.
Identification of venues should be in consultation with the relevant stake holders.
All the venues should be child friendly in terms of location and use (schools, churches, social halls, open spaces etc)
The venues should be within comfortable walking distance for the learners.
The venues should be spacious enough to allow for social distancing (1.5m space between learners)
The chief and local administrators should ensure security of learners to, within and from the venues.
Unauthorised persons should be kept away from the venues.
Mapping of Teachers
All teachers employed by the Commission are directed to register with the Curriculum Support Officers and Sub County Directors within Zones and Sub- County where they are currently staying in by 12th August 2020 with a view to undertaking community based learning which has been identified as a means of engaging learners during the current period when schools are closed as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Teachers will play a pivotal role to ensure the success of the programme. In this respect, teachers will be expected to carry out the following activities:-
Activities teachers will carry out
• Heads of institutions should be in school at least once per week to supervise and monitor the programme.
• Utilize the Nyumba Kumi programme to ensure that all learners participate in the programme.
• Set up a face to face programme of engaging not more than 15-20 learners while strictly observing the Ministry of Health Guidelines and protocols. This engagement should be at least 4 Hours a day at no charge.
• Organize the learners as much as possible according to their classes and/or age groups to ensure that the themes under discussion are relevant, suitable and appropriate to the group.
• Sensitize and educate the learners on the guidelines and protocols issued by the Ministry of Health towards the containment of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Conduct remote daily or weekly follow up with learners and parents.
• Utilize local resources during learners’ engagement.
• Offer guidance and counselling and psycho-social support to learners.
• Monitor the progress and the status of learners and provide information to Curriculum Support Officers.
• Code of regulations for teachers and Code of conduct and Ethics for Teachers shall prevail.
Enhancing Engagement in Online Teaching
In order to enhance engagement on online teaching teachers should carry out the following activities:
i. Make Learning as interactive as possible
ii. Communicating the learning expectations to learners
iii. Use peer-to-peer networks to your advantage
iv. Emphasize self-guided learning (particularly with less experienced students)
i. Make Learning as interactive as possible
Emphasis should be placed on modern pedagogical practices, like group work, peer feedback and blended or ‘blended’ learning. These activities can be conducted online and may help to extend students’ attention spans.
ii.Communicating the learning expectations to learners
• There is need to have learners understand the learning expectations as there are many factors that can affect engagement in teaching from home situations (learners may be living with family members who impact engagement) to technology problems (learners may have older technologies or slower internet speeds) to different learning styles.
• Orientation and/or induction of CBL implementation committees will be carried out through a multi-agency approach (Ministry of Education, Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, Ministry of Health and the Teachers Service Commission)
• Briefing will entail the content and activity areas as detailed below.
Community Based Learning suggested task based activities for engaging learners
• The suggested learning activities are not meant to cover the curriculum designs or syllabuses but to engage learners to gain good personal habits, competencies, skills and values. The activities have been outlined for the teachers but it is imperative that they be creative and include other activities that will be fun and enjoyable for the learners. The activities should be varied to reduce monotony and keep the learners interested.
Suggested learning activities
The suggested activities should:
be non-contact
allow for social distancing
be interesting and engaging
comprise short interval lessons
require learners to do some practical work
allow for creativity, improvisation and use of locally available materials
allow learners to express themselves freely, for example develop showcase portfolios, display of talents, dramatize, draw, song and dance.
Primary School
The suggested learning activities will be based on the following themes:
1. Life skills and values;
2. Health and fitness;
3. Learning area activities;
4. Environment and sanitation.
Secondary School
The suggested learning activities will be based on the following themes:
1. Citizenship
2. Environment
3. Creative arts
4. Languages
5. Games and Fitness
6. Life skills
7. Home science
8. Mathematics and financial literacy
Citizenship
Environment
Creative Arts
Language
• Values Formation
• Personal Hygiene
• Multi – media cards
• Language games
• Social Responsibility
• Hygiene and Conservation
• Draw and paint
• Debates
• Social
• Careers in Science
pictures
• Public speaking
Entrepreneurship
• (Non) Communicable Diseases
• Craft activities
• Poetry
• Religious Activities
• Body Systems
• Music and dance
• Oral Literature
• Socio-cultural
• Physical Exercise and Safety
• Drama
• Reading
Activities.
• Home Remedies and Simple First Aid
• Environmental Conservation
• Business Resources • Agribusiness
• Videography and photography
• Writing
Mathematics
• Geometry shapes
• Math Brain Teasers
• Trick Questions
• Riddles
• Ratios and Proportions
• The Number System
• Expressions and Equations
Financial Education
• Self-assessment
• Self -discovery
Suggested Reference/Teaching and Learning Materials
1. Teachers should plan around learning activities that do not involve too much of text books. They therefore need to engage in hands – on experiences requiring the learners to perform certain tasks.
2. Old newspapers and magazines can be used.
Take note that the materials should not be shared.
3. Guide learners on responsible use of tablets and other electronic devices.
4. Teachers can make prior arrangements to access books and other materials from the nearby schools provided there is a good issuance, maintenance and return procedures.
Supervision and Monitoring
Supervision of CBL
• In order to ensure successful engagement of learners in the CBL programme, the Zonal committees shall;
• Ensure the CBL programme runs from Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 1.00pm
• Make visits to the CBL learning venues during the learning time to ensure its successful implementation areas of jurisdiction.
• Support the teachers and demonstrate the suggested learning activities
• Receive feedback reports from teachers on the implementation of the CBL
• Compile weekly reports
• Offer continuous support on any emerging issues and continuously liaise with Sub-County and County Committees.
Monitoring
Monitoring shall be conducted through multi-agency approach at all levels. This will be conducted regularly so as to offer support and provide timely solutions to any emerging issues that may hinder the implementation of the programme.
Monitoring Template
Administrative details
• Centre name:
• Zone:
• Sub County:
• County:
• Name of teacher:
• TSC no:
• No of learners mapped for the centre
• No of learners present
• The County CBL Committee shall prepare monthly reports which shall be forwarded through the Regional Directors to the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Education and The Secretary Teachers Service Commission not later than the fifth day of the subsequent month.
Report Format
Title: Monitoring report on community service learning for
…….region for the month of …
• Preamble (include number of monitored centers and counties)
• Attendance (leaners and teachers attendance trends)
The teachers service commission has called on the public and teachers alike, to ignore the 2019/2020 teacher recruitment guidelines that are circulating on social media with the year falsely changed to read 2020/2021 terming it as a con that is misleading.
Through a tweet on there account TSC said it is yet to release the 2020/2021 recruitment guidelines urging the public to apply when the job advertisement is made public through the media including Interns who are eligible to apply for permanent positions.
TSC further said teacher recruitment is competitive and various aspects of the applicants are considered and not the year of graduation alone as purported in the misleading document.
