Mount Kenya University (MKU) has rebuffed claims that the opinion-splitting Teacher Professional Development (TPD) was put on hold.
The institution’s management has revealed that they have not received any official communication on the same from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
MKU released their official advertisement for the roll-out of the September 2022 TPD training programme.
In the advert, MKU management called on teachers to join its September training which starts on the 19th of September 2022.
Teachers were asked to pay Kshs. 6,000 for the introductory module which is currently ongoing.
Each teacher will be required to make a payment of Kshs. 6,000 per year in order to participate in the training.
Payment for the training will be done through either
- Mpesa PayBill Business Number 4078701 Account Number being the teacher TSC Number OR
- Depositing at Equity Bank Account Name: Mount Kenya University Teacher Professional Development, Account Number: 1550281262747.
Teachers have high hopes that President-Elect William Samoei Ruto’s promise will come forth and the pay government pays for the TPD training.
According to President-Elect William Ruto’s manifesto, his government promised to pay for the TPD training.
Mount Kenya University (MKU) is one of the institutions contracted to offer TPD training to teachers.
The other institutions contracted to offer the TPD are Riara University, Kenya Education Management Institute and Kenyatta University.
The TPD has six modules and its training is conducted during the holidays. At the end of each TPD module, teachers will be awarded points.
After completing all modules, teachers will be eligible for re-certification and promotion because the modules have been integrated into the Career Progression Guidelines.
In July, training teachers were asked to pay for the TPD Modules despite funds being allocated for the same in the National Assembly.
The National Treasury allocated Kshs. 1.16 billion to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for the only purpose of training teachers.
In the 2022-2023 budget, the Commission had allocated Kshs. 289.37 billion as the gross current and capital estimates and Kshs. 7.23 billion for general administration, planning and support services.
The allocation was done following a series of lobbying and requests from the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) through the education and budget committees.
“I thank Parliament for being a friend of the teachers despite opposition from the executive which has insisted each teacher gathers for the programme,” said MP Ronald Tonui.
Tonui who was a member of the education committee said that teachers were going to undergo TPD training without spending even a shilling.
According to Tonui, there were concerns from teachers who claimed that they were facing difficulties in getting money for the training.
Tonui said that the Commission should follow up with the National Treasury to have funds disbursed.
The policy by the Commission is under the career progression guidelines and was introduced to replace the old scheme of service that was in place for teachers.
In the beginning, the TPD faced fierce string opposition from the teachers’ unions but was implemented last year.
All teachers employed in public schools have been under pressure to undergo the training during the holidays all along according to the Commission’s regulations.
A policy paper prepared by the Commission in 2018 reveals that teachers will be trained for about five days during school holidays.
After starting the TPD programme, a teacher is required to acquire a certificate which is renewable every five years.
Despite facing a lot of opposition from various parties, TSC CEO Dr Nancy Macharia defended the rollout of the programme saying that it updates teacher knowledge, skills, attitude and values and encourages teachers’ learning communities.
According to Dr Nancy Macharia, teachers will also be able to keep up to date with the changes in the academic world.