TSC proposes stringent rules in revised Code of Conduct and Ethics

TSC Secretary Gabriel Lengoiboni (left) confers with Education principal secretaries Collete Suda (centre) and Bellio Kipsang after a stakeholders’ meeting at the Kenya School of Government in Nairobi.  [PHOTO: BEVERLYNE MUSILI/STANDARD]

By AUGUSTINE ODUOR

Kenya: Teachers supplementing their monthly income by engaging in private business may soon have to revise their revenue streams.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has proposed stringent rules that, among other things, bar teachers from running businesses or airing political views.

The new rules are part of the revised Code of Conduct and Ethics that was presented to the key players in the education sector for scrutiny Thursday.

The new rules were however quickly opposed by the teachers’ union with the key argument being that teachers have to be allowed to engage in other activities to boost their “meagre” income, as long as they engage in private business outside working hours.

Top on the list of new rules is the requirement that teachers must undergo open and rigorous appraisals to gauge and enforce productivity.

The rules will also apply to other employees of TSC who will no longer be allowed to run private businesses or publicly express political views.

It will also be punishable for a teacher to play a central role in the organisation of a “harambee” including being the guest of honour.

The teachers’ employer has also recommended that it would be illegal for teachers to engage in any sexual activity with a learner regardless of whether the student has consented.

Under the new rules, it will also be an offence for any teacher to send any pupil to his or her personal residence, “whatever the reason”.

Sexual harassment

And in the staff room, no teacher will be allowed to sexually harass a colleague or even make any physical contact that is sexually suggestive in nature.

These are some of the stringent rules the teachers employer wants passed in its effort to enhance integrity and professionalism in the teaching industry.

Also discussed was the revised Code of Regulations for teachers.

The rules will apply to all registered teachers and staff of the TSC secretariat.

Teachers who intend to send learners home, say for defaulting on fees payment, will only be allowed to do so between 6am and noon.

TSC says sending children away from school earlier or later than the prescribed time will be illegal.

And releasing  a learner from school for any reason before notifying the guardian or parent will be punishable if the new code is passed.

Commission secretary Gabriel Lengoiboni said the two documents aim at protecting the child and enhancing quality education.

“We are reforming the management of teaching in a fundamental way by enhancing integrity and accountability,” he said.

Education Principal Secretary Dr Belio Kipsang, however, said various institutions must be respected even as efforts are made to manage the sector.

Under Section 50 of the Code of Regulations, TSC proposes to develop an open performance appraisal system for teachers.

Head teachers will be required to provide an oversight role in the performance appraisal for teachers in their respective institutions.

“The commission may take disciplinary action against a teacher who fails to complete and submit an appraisal report to the supervisor or who refuses or neglects to discuss or sign their appraisal report with their supervisor,” reads the proposal.

Other stakeholders present at the Kenya School of Government were Elimu Yetu Coalition, the National Gender and Equality Commission, Kenya Episcopal Conference (Catholic bishops), and the two national parents associations, among others.

In its raft of proposals, TSC also demands that  teachers must not engage in any other gainful employment while serving in full-time basis.

The employer further recommends that no teacher shall engage in private business during official working hours, a proposal that the two teachers’ unions have opposed.

Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) yesterday said teachers must be allowed to seek alternative sources of income to supplement their “meagre” pay.

“What we are saying is that teachers should ensure that whatever they do does not interfere with their professional duties. But we cannot completely bar them from pursuing any source of income,” said Kuppet National Chairman Omboko Milemba.

The teachers’ unions also argued teachers were respectable members of the society and cannot be locked out of fundraising activities.

“Teachers must be assimilated into the society and heads of institutions must not be reduced to mere spectators,” said Knut National Chairman Mudzo Nzili.

The document says that an employee who wishes to contest an election shall resign from the service at least six months before the date of election.

The revised code  has spelt out offences that may see teachers struck off the register.