The Teachers Professional Development (TPD) training at Mount Kenya University has been rescheduled due to the low turnup of teachers.
The online training of teachers at the institution on TPD ended last week when the introductory module entered the second session at MKU.
Unfortunately, the low number of teachers who attended the training forced the university to reschedule virtual training.
MKU was the first university to start the training on TPD. The five-day training of teachers at MKU began on the 4th of April.
The dates have been set from Tuesday the 19th to the 23rd of April this year (2022).
Among the institutions that were selected to offer TPD training are Mount Kenya University, Riara University, Kenyatta University and the Kenya Education Management Institute (KEMI).
KEMI is set to start the training next week on Monday with the second session set to start on the 11th to 14th of April 2022.
KEMI’s management team revealed that it is mandated under Legal Notice No. 19/2010 to provide Education Management Training, offer Consultancy Services and conduct research in the education sector including the TPD itself.
Why Low Numbers?
There are various reasons attributed to the low numbers of teachers who turned up to attend the TPD training.
The first reason is a most likely parliamentary recommendation with Members of Parliament (MPs) calling for an immediate pause of the TPD to allow for proper stakeholders’ involvement and consultation.
Besides consultation and involvement of key stakeholders in the TPD process, the National Assembly also called for the government to pay the Sh. 6,000 training fee and the list of institutions offering the refresher courses to be expanded.
The marking of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) national examinations is another reason since teachers who are supposed to attend the training are currently involved in the marking of the national examinations.
Inflation that is being experienced by Kenyans amid rising prices of key commodities such as cooking oil, maize flour and the lack of petrol fuel in many parts of the country have contributed to teachers thinking twice before committing to the financial obligations associated with the Teacher Professional Development training.
Teachers are required to pay Sh. 6,000 for the TPD and the training itself takes up to 30 years to complete.