TSC tours schools as shake-up continues across Kenya

TSC Head of Communication Kihumba Kamotho. PHOTO: FILE

Co-curricular activities and meetings of teachers’ unions on school days have been banned as authorities intensified measures to improve performance.

And top Teachers Service Commission (TSC) officials will today begin nation-wide monitoring of progress in the implementation of performance contracting and teacher appraisal programmes.

The Government has recently announced radical measures to ensure teachers deliver on set targets in schools that include rules to curb teacher absenteeism on the back of the disturbing results of last year's national exams.

In the latest changes, the Ministry of Education has revised dates to confine national games championships to holidays.

A circular dated February 10, 2017, from the ministry's office of the Director General directs that all such activities this year will run from April 3 to 16.

"This was done to allow more time for teaching and learning," reads the circular addressed to all regional coordinators of education, county and sub-county directors, principals of teacher training colleges and other tertiary institutions.

Others addressed in the communication are vice chancellors of both private and public universities and county education committee members (county education ministers).

According to the circular, term one secondary school games hosted by Nairobi School will run from April 7 to 16.

Kenya Teachers Training Colleges Ball games to be held in Mosoriot TTC, Rift Valley, will begin on April 3 and end five days later.

Primary school games championships have, too, not been spared the restrictions. "At the lower levels, the education officials are advised to ensure the competitions are held in the afternoons and weekends if possible."

Initially, such games were being held within the school term which required that participating teachers and students stay away from class in that period.

It is only revision of sports and games constitution, sports management and emerging issues in sports that are scheduled for February 23 to 25, which falls within the school calendar. And TSC has also directed unions, saccos and cooperative societies to confine their activities to weekends and holidays.

Yesterday, TSC announced that its commissioners and senior officials' team led by chairperson Lydia Nzomo will be visiting schools across the country starting today to oversee performance appraisals for teachers.

The exercise, which will run up to Friday, will involve visits to various schools where teachers and heads of institutions will give feedback on the effectiveness of the programmes.

This follows the introduction of performance contracting and teacher appraisals in January 2016.

According to TSC Head of Communication Kihumba Kamotho, the two performance management programmes are intended to improve the quality of teaching and learning outcomes in public schools.

All teachers are under appraisals while their heads are on performance contracts.

"Performance contracting for head teachers and principals will be focused on the measures the administrators have put in place for prudent management of financial and human resources, supervision of teaching and learning activities and maintenance of teaching standards," explained Kamotho. Kamotho added that heads of institutions are also required to focus on customer satisfaction and will be assessed on compliance with the Constitution and other legal provisions in the teaching service.

"Teachers are appraised on demonstration of professional knowledge and its application, preparation and use of schemes of work, lesson notes and learners records," said Kamotho.

Others areas of assessment include time management, participation in co-curricular activities, collaboration and networking and professional conduct, learner safety and professional development.

"The performance contracting and teacher appraisal programmes are useful in making key teacher management and human resource decisions such as assignment, deployment, training and promotion," said Kamotho.

On February 2, TSC issued rules to discourage absence of teachers from schools.