The Education Ministry has proposed tough guidelines for teachers under the proposed Competency-Based-Curriculum. The taskforce under CS George Magoha wants teachers to adhere to the stipulated code of conduct and those seeking employment to be evaluated under it.
Chairperson Fatuma Chege, on Tuesday, February 9, said that the teachers would have to live a good lifestyle that students can learn from. The task force is seeking to reduce incidents of sexual affairs between teachers and students and also curb the drug menace in schools.
Under the new guidelines, teachers will be required to abstain from alcohol and drug abuse, other than presenting academic papers to justify their employment.
They will also have to prove that they can maintain good conduct and guide students to adhere to the same too.
“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.
She, however, did not clarify how they will ensure teachers abstain from drug usage or the measures that will be put in place to monitor whether they adhere to good conduct requirements. She also did not state whether they would conduct drug tests on teachers.
For students, CS Magoha contemplated conducting blood tests on students to curb drug abuse in schools. Any student who would test positive would be expelled from schools and barred from joining other institutions.
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 names of deregistered teachers and also banned a number from practicing.
Their current code of conduct stipulates that a teacher will face disciplinary action. School Heads are tasked with ensuring measures set by TSC are followed to the latter.
In October 2020, TSC deregistered 30 teachers from different schools in the country. The teachers were removed from the national register in accordance with Section 30 (1) (e) of the Teachers Service Commission Act.
“The commission may, after inquiry, cause to be removed from the register the name of any person who the commission has directed should be removed as a result of disciplinary proceedings instituted under this Act,” the law reads.
The listed teachers had cases of sexual offenses on learners raised against them and were issued notice letters between September 14 and 25, 2020.
