TSC Issues Deadline for Submitting TPAD and Consequences for Failing to Do So
Teachers now have until the end of this week to complete the Teacher Performance Assessment (TPAD) when schools close for the second term.
According to the Ministry of Education (MOE) calendar, all schools must be closed on September 16, 2022.
According to the council, TPAD, an open assessment system, will allow primary and secondary school teachers to evaluate their work and improve their professional skills.
Through the evaluation and development system, teachers should be strengthened to regain the lost glory of the teaching profession and the trust and support of the community.
Teachers Service Commission uses TPAD to promote teachers. During the promotion interview, teachers must download and present appropriate evidence that TPAD will be considered.
TSC has added the Teacher Professional Development (TPD) training program to the TPAD portal. The first TPD team will complete the introductory module and issue certificates come December this year.
The council punishes teachers who do not participate in regular TPAD training. Reasons given to teachers who did not complete the term evaluation at the end of the specified period.
In July, the TSC released data showing that most teachers spoke about the assessment system introduced five years ago. The data shows that more than 93% of Teachers Service Commission teachers completed the online evaluation form at the end of term 3, 87% at the end of term 2 and 86% at the end of term 1.
By the end of the third term, 341,760 teachers had completed the online form, an increase of 4,917 teachers who had done so in the previous term, according to a report by TSC director of quality and standards, Dr Mugwuku Nthamburi. The teacher performance assessment and development tool was introduced in 2016. After some changes, it was named TPAD2 in 2019.
However, this evaluation system met with some opposition from the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), led by Wilson Sossion as secretary general.
The Kenya Union of Primary Teachers also rejected the policy change, saying it was ill-advised and that the assessment process was cumbersome and time-consuming.
They accused Teachers Service Commission of disrupting teaching and learning by forcing teachers to spend hours in cyber-cafes downloading and filling assessment forms. Teachers say paperwork is time-consuming and requires reliable internet, saying it is not available in some areas.
But TSC explained that the system is a tool to facilitate real-time feedback on school performance, teacher competence, gaps in learning and teaching and learning standards in individual schools.
It is said that the assessment submitted today does not accurately reflect the situation on the ground. As a result, some teachers said to fill in and submit the assessment score for overwork, admitting that the score is just cooked up numbers.
Sources say that some schools do not conduct classroom monitoring, and some teachers will call their cyber officers to fill in and submit something at the eleventh hour.
A report by Dr. Nthamburi to the TSC regional director, 22,607 teachers representing 6.61% have not completed the process for three terms and their evaluation is pending at various stages. Of these, 4,703 teachers failed to self-evaluate, 5,829 submitted a questionnaire but were not evaluated by their supervisor, and 6,559 did not have a signature on the form.
He asked principals to submit reports detailing reasons for non-compliance in their districts, lists of teachers not captured in the system and why, missing school desks and reasons for missing signatures in various forms.
He also asked principals to show how they will ensure 100 percent compliance in their respective areas, apart from giving suggestions on how to improve the online system.
