The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will start the ‘Mwalimu Award’ program to recognize and reward outstanding teachers, according to TSC CEO Dr Nancy Macharia.
Macharia, addressing at Mitihani House in Nairobi after the formal publication of the 2021 KCSE results, said the initiative will be implemented when President Uhuru Kenyatta gave his approval.
The Commission is currently developing a set of standardized criteria and mechanisms for recognizing teachers.
Teachers who excel in a variety of areas, including academics, sports, and co-curricular activities, will be recognized as part of the program.
Macharia further mentioned that the Commission received sh 1.2 billion for recruiting 6,000 intern teachers this year and another sh 2.5 billion for hiring 5,000 permanent teachers.
She does say, however, that the Commission is still dealing with a serious teacher shortage, which she says now stands at 114,581.
According to Macharia, the Commission will begin training secondary school teachers next week in preparation for the junior secondary rollout in January.
This training will be targeted at 60,000 instructors, including public, private, and special education teachers.
According to Macharia, the Commission plans to train 116,024 teachers this year in preparation for the start of grade 7 students in January.
She claims that by January 2023, all secondary school teachers will have been trained, and there would be no gaps in the implementation of the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).
Macharia commended the teachers who faithfully manned and graded the KCSE exams in 2021.
“I thank all Kenyan teachers for remaining resilient and hardworking over the last two shortened academic calendar years. Most of you defied the raging Covid19 effects to assist in preparing learners to cover the syllabus,” said Macharia.
She said the teachers medical scheme AON Minet will continue supporting teachers who may get affected by the coronavirus
