An education lobby has kicked off a push to create an independent professional body to regulate teachers. The group says the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) cannot effectively serve as both employer and regulator.
In a memorandum submitted to the TSC, the Education Stakeholders Association of Kenya (Esak) said the commission’s dual role has created gaps in accountability, professional development and enforcement of ethical standards in the teaching profession.
“It is time for Kenya to establish a professional body separate from TSC to set and enforce teaching standards, license educators and drive continuous professional development—just like in other professions such as medicine and law,” said Esak National Chairman Fuad Abdallah Ali.
According to Mr Fuad, the proposed body would be responsible for developing professional standards, issuing teaching licenses, enforcing codes of conduct and taking disciplinary action against errant teachers.
The lobby insists that the current framework lacks an autonomous mechanism to uphold professionalism and accountability in education.
It further argues that allowing the same institution to employ, discipline and regulate teachers presents a conflict of interest which undermines efforts to improve the profession.
“Allowing one body to hire, discipline and regulate teachers compromises objectivity. We need an independent institution that can uphold accountability without bias or conflicting interests,” said Mr Ndung’u Wangenye, the Esak National Secretary.
The stakeholders also raised concerns about the rising number of unregistered people posing as teachers while applying for school positions. According to Esak, some of them use forged or unverifiable registration certificates while schools lack the tools to authenticate them.
It proposed the creation of a real-time online verification system to authenticate registration certificates and support enforcement of professional standards. The lobby decried cases of politicians conducting holiday tuition despite not being registered teachers, which dilutes the quality of curriculum delivery.
The lobby further requested that the TSC prioritise the timely processing of pensions and gratuities for retired and soon-to-retire teachers.
