The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has been told to review its promotion and deployment criteria for teachers.
The Kenya Women Teachers Association (KEWOTA) made this call in a bid to address the issues affecting their members.
Currently, the Commission is carrying out a retooling exercise across the country for teachers in a bid to boost the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). There are also ongoing interviews for the promotion of teachers to join Junior Secondary Schools (JSS).
However, the exercise to deploy teachers to the JSS has been marred with controversy with many teachers complaining about the criteria used in the promotion of teachers.
Some teachers complained that some teachers with a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) mean grade of C+ (plus) and a C+ (Plus) in the two teaching subjects they specialized in was not considered for deployment for unknown reasons.
KEWOTA still sought more clarity from the Commission regarding various grievances and called for the evaluation of the guidelines used in the promotion of teachers.
Teachers are important in any country as they mould children for the betterment of the country’s economy and overall development.
However, the feeling among most teachers is that they are given very little appreciation and are not recognized for their efforts.
Recommendation regarding teacher promotion and deployment Criteria of teachers
One of the recommendations that could work across all categories of teachers is automatic promotions instead of pegging them on managers of schools, sub-counties or counties. However, this should also include recognition for performing well in their jobs.
The current criteria for promoting teachers are cumbersome and lead to many teachers feeling aggrieved after failing to be promoted despite having acted with great results in various positions.
Once a teacher meets the set criteria they should be automatically moved to the next job grade.
This would provide a clear path for promotions and leave teachers only focusing on what they are doing to rise through the ranks.
The current problems in the teaching community have led to a lowering of the morale of the teachers. Demotivated employees in any setup lead to poor results.
If a system is implemented that measures the performance of teachers, then it would be easier to promote teachers based on merit instead of favouritism.
Excellence should be rewarded in teaching in order to retain teachers in their profession since most of the teachers who quit the profession are those who have felt that they have been denied the opportunity to advance.