Ministry of Education unveils tough guidelines for teachers

The Ministry of education has proposed guidelines that will see teachers face tough requirements from the employer in an effort to instill discipline and ethics in the teaching profession.
Under the new proposed Competency-Based-Curriculum (CBC) taskforce under CS Magoha, the CS wants teachers to adhere to stipulated code of conduct and also wants those seeking employment to be evaluated under it.
This means practicing teachers face harsh punishment for non compliance and those seeking employment have other hurdles to pass in order to secure employment.
Under the new guidelines, teachers will be required to abstain from alcohol and drug abuse, other than presenting academic papers to justify their employment.
The proposals also demands that teachers will have to prove that they can maintain good conduct and guide students to adhere to the same too.
Chairperson Fatuma Chege, on Tuesday, February 9, said that the teachers would have to live a good lifestyle that students can learn from. The taskforce is seeking to reduce incidents of sexual affairs between teachers and students and also curb the drug menace in schools.
“We have recommended that good conduct will be part of the characteristics of a teacher, not only a certificate because we are developing a child to be ethical, hence the teacher must lead by example,” Chege said.
What remains unclear though is how the Ministry and TSC plans to ensure teachers abstain from drug usage as the proposals do not provide a guideline or measure that will be put in place to monitor and ensure compliance.
As to whether drug test will be conducted on teachers, it is still unclear.
Previously Education CS had proposed introduction of drug test among learners to tame drug abuse menace in schools.
According to Magoha’s proposal, any student who would test positive would be expelled from schools and barred from joining other institutions.
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The new CBC guidelines for teachers will be developed and implemented by the Teachers Service Commission, which is tasked with punishing teachers who break guidelines. TSC has always published de-registered teachers and also banned a number from practicing for non compliance.
The current code of conduct stipulates that teachers will face disciplinary action and school head teachers are tasked with ensuring compliance in school.
TSC has in past months de-registered and removed a number of teachers from the service. In the month of October 2020 alone, 30 teachers from various schools across the country were removed from the service.
The teachers had cases of sexual offenses on learners raised against them resulting to the termination of their services.
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