Teaching as a profession was once characterized with absolute nobility but just what happened?. Well, for a teacher in Kenya, the element of nobility in teaching has quickly faded and perseverance is all that’s left.
The future for the teacher is becoming more bleak as they are treading on uncharted seas. This is because the teachers do not know what the employer might think up overnight.
The history of it all, began with the frustration directed towards the teachers’ unions. Even with frequent plea to the court of law, the Kenya National Union of Teachers was eventually brought to it’s knees by TSC.
In killing the unions, the main aim of the teachers’ employer would then be to be in complete power to control teachers without a single opposition. Now, TSC is coming up with policies, one after the other. There is no policy by TSC that teachers receive with jubilation. Each is met with lamentations from the teachers all over the country.
Delocalization was frowned upon by teachers as it affected some families. Although teachers signed upon employment that they would work anywhere within the country, human considerations have to be taken into account for the sake of the families stability.
The document called TPAD was yet another nightmare for teachers. It was not a bad idea altogether but TSC pegging promotion on this document was so unfair as teachers teach in different environments.
One cannot adopt this as a standard rating because it involves targets and performance of learners. You cannot then use it to rate a teacher in the remotest part of the country with a teacher from, let us say, Alliance and any other national school.
The worst of all is the current Teachers Development Module which is supposed to be paid by the same teachers. There is information doing rounds that is giving jitters to the unemployed teachers.
TSC is insisting that in the near future, one would only be employed having gone through the training. Remember, some of these teachers are not even employed temporarily by schools. Some are under immense pressure to repay the loan by the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB).
Will a teacher become productive while working and lamenting at a go?