This archive report was first published on 26 July 2019.
On July 19, 2019, a judge issued a decision that stopped new career progression rules to guide teachers' promotions. The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) sought to suspend this decision, arguing that it would paralyse its operations and hamper the execution of its mandate.
However, on July 26, 2019, Justice Byram Ongaya declined to suspend the decision, citing that the matter was no longer before him and that the TSC should appeal against the judgment if it was not satisfied.
The judge also directed the TSC to convene validation meetings to finalise the performance measurement tools and roll out the programme. He stated that he could not issue a blanket order stopping his decision, as the TSC had failed to convince him that stopping the implementation of the performance appraisal tool would paralyse its operations.
TSC's Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia argued in an affidavit that suspending the performance management tools would be an affront to public interest, as it would make employed teachers unaccountable in exercising their duty.
The commission also argued that the decision violates the constitution and the Public Finance Management Act, which requires prudent use of public funds and affects the right to education.
