This archive report was first published on 22 December 2019.
On December 22, 2019, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) announced a review of its requirement for all school principals to hold a Master's degree, a decision that was met with concerns from the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet).
According to TSC Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Nancy Macharia, the decision to review the requirement was made following a job evaluation. However, she acknowledged that many teachers did not have the degree, which led to Kuppet's request for the TSC to withdraw the requirement.
Secretary-General of Kuppet, Akelo Misori, stated that the commission had introduced a career progression guideline that did not require a Master's degree. In response, Mrs. Macharia thanked teachers for their feedback and announced that vacancies affected by the requirement would be re-advertised.
Notably, Mrs. Macharia commended teachers who had taken advantage of the liberalization of higher education in Kenya to obtain academic and professional qualifications beyond the entry requirements. She emphasized the importance of the teaching service going beyond minimum requirements in terms of training.
Despite challenges, the TSC has seen improvements in the teaching service, with 16,979 teachers recruited this year to address the staffing shortage. Additionally, 10,000 interns were recruited, and 16,113 teachers were promoted, while 218,283 were trained on the competency-based curriculum.
