A notice prohibiting the deployment of P1 teachers to teach Junior Secondary School (JSS) classes has been reported as fraudulent by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
The letter, dated December 27, 2024, and without the signature of TSC Chief Executive Nancy Macharia, admonished the teachers who it said had been deployed by heads of institutions (HOIs) in violation of government directives.
The letter, which was written to all county and sub-county directors, as well as curriculum support officials, also said that only TSC was authorized to clear teachers qualified to transition pupils to JSS.
“It has come to our attention that primary school teachers have been deployed to teach Junior Secondary School (JSS) classes by the Heads of Institutions (HOIs), which is not within their mandate,” read the fake letter in part.
“Teacher deployment is the responsibility of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).”
“As schools reopen in January, no primary teacher will be allowed to teach in Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) unless deployed by the commission,” the letter stated.
“We have employed enough JSS teachers who can handle all subjects as outlined in their employment letters.”
“You are therefore asked to ensure that the headteachers within the jurisdiction have adhered to this directive. Any heads of institution found not following this directive will face disciplinary actions,” added the fake letter.
In response, TSC condemned the letter as forgery and advised all instructors and parents to disregard it.
“Please beware of the fake posts circulating on social media. Remember to always verify information from our communication channels,” TSC stated.
Macharia said last month that her commission will send elementary school teachers to enhance JSS learning activities.
The pioneer class is slated to begin attending JSS in January of next year.In October, the commission hired 20,000 JSS teachers on an internship basis for 12 months.
Following that, on December 17, the Commission launched an employment campaign for 19,943 tutors to close the JSS shortfall before the January 2025 academic calendar.
The state was looking to fill 4,703 Senior Teacher I positions, while there were 3,653 Deputy Head Teacher II positions available.
TSC had already adopted a framework policy that directed P1 teachers to update their curricula.In a statement to the National Assembly, the commission stated that the retooling program was specifically designed to provide P1 teachers with the abilities required to effectively apply the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) at the primary level.
“The course content of the upgrade in the Diploma Primary Education Programme is designed specifically for primary education to improve quality teaching at the primary level,” explained TSC.“
The career pathway for teachers teaching at JSS is that of a secondary school teacher distinct from the P1 teacher at the primary school level. Hence, the upgrade was not intended as a pathway for P1 teachers to be absorbed into JSS roles.”
