Teachers Service Commission (TSC)
The standard website (link above) wrote an article with the title “TSC plans to hit education graduates hard”
“According to the new proposals outlined by Teachers Service Commission (TSC), all university graduates interested in teaching will have to procure a post-graduate diploma in education.”
Topping it with even harder entry to teaching service (TC). Will mention only 3:
1.A must certificate(postgraduate Diploma in Education) before practice. ““All the 8-4-4 and Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) students must undertake first, Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science courses for a period of three years majoring on the key subjects and, thereafter, undertake a Postgraduate Diploma in Education for a period of one year for teaching at junior and senior school and SNE (Special Needs Education),” the document stipulates.”(Link above)
2. Increase level from certificate to diploma in Education before employment. “Other recommendations are that the minimum qualification for entry into teaching in Kenya at all levels be a diploma in Education.”
3. With the strained liquidity after covid, they want to reduce the number of government sponsored student by terming it “demand-driven”. “At the same time, admission into all diplomas and degrees in teacher education courses shall be ”demand-driven”, meaning the number of teachers graduating each year will be controlled.”(Link above)
Reasons for this drastic changes the Director for Quality Assurance and Standards at the TSC, Dr Reuben Nthamburi alluded to were:
1. “That there is a diploma in secondary education which will cater for defined learning areas/subjects required in junior and senior secondary level which have shortages.”(link above)
Opposition:
- Yesterday, the Universities’ Academic Staff Union (UASU) expressed dissatisfaction with the contents of the document.
“They want to erase the Bachelors of Education programme so that all students just enroll for either Bachelor of Arts or of Science. When they graduate and one is interested in teaching, he or she must return for a postgraduate diploma in education,” said Dr Wilfridah Itolondo, Kenyatta University UASU chapter vice-chairperson.
- “University lecturers feel this could be a plan to cleverly implement recommendations by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on cutting budgets and expenditure in some state corporations, which may involve freezing of new employment or pushing for retrenchments as the qualification for a Sh257 billion loan to Kenya.”(Link above)
The effect of implementation of TSC’s proposal will do the following:
- Reduced funding for education sector
- Translates to even worse public school service which most citizens depend on.
- After the covid restrictions many Kenyans switch to Public schools due to forced expenditure cuts. Hence need for “demand-driven” intake on the contrary more space be provided for teaching courses.
- Forcing people to private schools cause of unavailable spaces in public. Or over crowded ineffective public education facility will only increase illiterate and unskilled citizens. The burden to most Kenyans will be crippling expecting from wealth collecting elite
These are trending effects of capitalism worldwide. Islam with the Khilafah system has the ability and the mercy to elevate its citizens to stability and comfort.
1. Certification or authorization (Ijazah) in Islam is linked to the teacher not an institution which can be deceiving as they depend on the employees, financial capability and others, which varying from time to time. This makes the chain of teachers known which helps to clarify authenticity and maintain purity of the content carried.
2. For capitalism the state is not responsible for ensuring every individual’s basic necessities (needs) are mate. Its combines needs (includes education which is the subject) and wants (we can live without) hence sees them (needs and wants) as not satisfiable for every individual.
- Funding for SGR and other ambitious projects are available even loans are taken for them to materialize and for education we get budget cuts. This is how capitalism priories production over distribution cause infrastructure projects increases production and reduces logistics burden. Islam priorities distribution over production. Therefore allow even taxation on wealth of the rich (incase state treasury is not sufficient) for satisfying basic needs of its citizens.
- Loans with interest have always been heavy on the lower deck of society since the times of slavery. Not much has changed today, loans are one of the shackles used to subjugate “the third world” countries from slipping away from colonialism.
- Islam is legislated by Allah (SWT) who not in need of the resources to survive. Unlike capitalist which leaves us to scramble for leftover of colonialist, the ruling elite and comrades.
By SAMIRA MOHAMAD ALI.