Education stakeholders push for independent body to regulate teachers
Fuad explained that the proposed body would be tasked with setting professional benchmarks, licensing all qualified teachers, enforcing codes of conduct, and handling misconduct cases.
Education stakeholders have renewed calls for the establishment of an independent professional body to regulate the teaching profession, saying the current arrangement under the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is no longer effective in promoting accountability and ethical conduct among educators.
In a memorandum submitted to the commission, the Education Stakeholders Association of Kenya (ESAK) argued that the TSC’s combined role as both employer and regulator has led to serious gaps in the monitoring of teacher conduct, enforcement of discipline, and promotion of continuous professional growth.
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“It is time for Kenya to establish a professional body separate from TSC to set and enforce teaching standards, license educators and drive continuous professional development, just like in other professions such as medicine and law,” said ESAK National Chairman Fuad Abdallah Ali as reported by Daily Nation.
Fuad explained that the proposed body would be tasked with setting professional benchmarks, licensing all qualified teachers, enforcing codes of conduct, and handling misconduct cases.
He said these responsibilities should not be handled by the same entity that employs teachers, as this creates a conflict of interest.
According to ESAK, there is an urgent need for an independent institution to ensure that professionalism is upheld without fear or bias.
The lobby noted that the current structure makes it difficult to enforce standards fairly, especially when the same commission is expected to supervise those it hires and pays.
“Allowing one body to hire, discipline and regulate teachers compromises objectivity. We need an independent institution that can uphold accountability without bias or conflicting interests,” said ESAK National Secretary Ndung’u Wangenye.
The association also highlighted the growing problem of individuals applying for school jobs using forged or fake teacher registration certificates.
They said some schools have no way of confirming the authenticity of documents, leading to cases where unregistered people end up in classrooms.
To curb this, ESAK proposed the introduction of a real-time online verification system to help schools confirm whether a teacher is registered.
The group believes this would prevent impersonation and support strict enforcement of professional requirements.
ESAK also raised concern over cases where politicians and other non-teachers are involved in offering holiday tuition, despite not being certified to teach.
They said such actions lower the quality of education and weaken the teaching profession.
The lobby further asked the TSC to speed up the processing of pensions and gratuities for teachers who have retired or are close to retirement.
They said delays in these payments affect the well-being of retired teachers and must be addressed urgently.
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