sigh of relief for teachers after an education consultant moved to court seeking orders to stop the compulsory implementation teacher professional development programme.
Joseph Karanja has filed a petition at the High Court in Nakuru. The petition was filed against the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), Education Cabinet Secretary, Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers, Kenya National Union of Teachers, Kenyatta University, Mt Kenya University, Riara University and Kenya Education Management Institute.
In his petition, Karanja has noted that the decision to have teachers take mandatory refresher training violates their rights.
He further states that key stakeholders were not involved by the commission while coming up with module to be undertaken in the professional development programme.
He said: “Teachers and education stakeholders were not engaged by TSC in the development of the content of the module to be undertaken in the professional development programme,”.
In addition, Karanja noted that the launch of the programme by the teachers’ employer was done in secrecy and without the involvement of the teachers who are the primary subjects of the said programme.
Karanja also poked holes on the criteria that was used to choose the four institutions that will carry out the the implementation of the TPD modules.
It is increasingly clear that most teachers are old and cannot complete the said training while still in service. This means that these teachers will not benefit from any subsequent promotion since promotions will be guided by undertaking of TPD modules.
Karanja seeks to have the programme declared unconstitutional, null and void. At the same time he wants TSC, the ministry and the universities stopped from implementing the programme.