TSC Introduces New Allowances For Teachers
Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has announced new allowances for teachers in special schools.
The move is meant to attract and retain these teachers in the institutions.
On Tuesday TSC Chief Executive Officer Dr. Nancy Macharia told the National Assembly Cohesion and Equal Opportunities Committee that special needs schools in the country are faced with a shortage of 5,362 teachers.
According to Shinyalu MP Fred Ikana, the hardships faced by special needs school teachers deter their peers from applying for positions in the establishments, which contributes to the scarcity.
TSC Introduces New Allowances For Teachers
Readers Facilitation or Aid allowance has been introduced for teachers who are blind, deaf, dumb, or have physical limitations, according to Macharia, who informed the Adan Haji-led committee.
“Special school allowances is also another incentive introduced to teachers with special education skills,” she stated.
Macharia pointed out that these incentives are extra to the usual ones, such hardship and commuter allowances.
“Due to budget constraints, the commission has developed a phased deployment of teachers to special needs schools to address the shortage,” she said.
Vice head of the committee Liza Chelule praised the teacher employer’s initiatives to raise the standard of living for educators in special education facilities.
TSC Introduces New Allowances For Teachers
But more work needed to be done, according to her. “The committee found that the special needs schools and teachers operated in appalling conditions after visiting special needs schools in parts of Coast, Nyanza, Western, and Rift Valley,” the statement read.
Regarding the teacher shortage, Macharia stated that 1,763 instructors were employed and assigned to classrooms by TSC in May.
She also mentioned that 3,600 more instructors will be assigned to classrooms in September of this year and in January and June of next year.
The head of TSC went on to say that the commission has also created and put into effect a special staffing standard for special education schools.
According to Macharia, each teacher’s class size is determined by the kind and severity of the students’ disabilities.
TSC Introduces New Allowances For Teachers
“For example, the class size for mentally handicapped learners is set at four students while the class size for physically handicapped learners should have 15 students,” she said.
According to Macharia, the teacher-to-student ratio is intended to guarantee that educators provide special needs students with the necessary attention.
