TSC rolls out new requirements for school heads in Kenya

It will no longer be business as usual in the Kenya’s education sector as the sector is set for a

Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has announced that School heads in Primary schools as well as principals of secondary schools and colleges will now be expected to have Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees respectively under the new education policy.

Their deputies will also be expected to have similar qualifications as school heads take a more prominent role in the performance of their institutions, said their employer.

“Those who lack the required academic qualifications will be given time to go back to school,” said TSC chief executive officer Nancy Macharia in Mombasa yesterday during the 13th annual primary school head teachers conference.

There are about 23,000 heads in primary schools and about 8,600 principals in Kenyan secondary schools most of whom have certificates from teachers training colleges while those in secondary schools have degrees.

Currently, school teachers earned promotion based on their performance and years of service, but academic qualifications will also be included.

“One of the key re-engineering programmes that the TSC has put in place is strengthening of management of schools,” said Ms Macharia.

The Commission said the teachers will be given time to attain the new qualifications without specifying the compliance period, but a source at the commission said the tutors will have five years to upgrade their qualifications.

Among other changes rolled out touches on school’s population and heads of schools tenure.

Schools with more than two streams will now have two deputies while primary head-teachers, secondary school and college principals will no longer serve in their home counties.

The school heads would also not serve in one station for more than nine years.

Dr Macharia said the new policy for delocalisation would improve cohesion of Kenya’s diverse culture.

“This is a major paradigm shift to improve management of institutions,” she said.

“When we have teachers from outside your home counties you give instructions freely, give sanctions, reward without being told you are favouring or are going against the son or daughter of the soil. This will help the head teachers and I urge you to support this policy.”

The new policy will affect technical training institutes and teacher training colleges numbering about 105.