The Teachers Service Commission has introduced a program to honour hardworking teachers.
The Mwalimu Award program will recognize teachers who have gone above and beyond to improve education standards in the country.
The commission is currently developing structured criteria and modalities for awarding teachers, according to TSC.
Teachers will be recognized for their efforts in a variety of areas, including academics, sports, and extracurricular activities, as part of the program.
Dr Nancy Macharia, CEO of the Teachers Service Commission, stated during the release of the 2021 KCSE examination results that the commission will work with relevant officers to explore modalities of institutionalizing the Mwalimu awards within existing policy and legal frameworks.
“I am happy to announce that President Uhuru Kenyatta has today graciously accepted the commission’s proposal to introduce a Mwalimu Award to recognise well-performing teachers.
“The President has further directed the commission to work with relevant officers to explore modalities of institutionalising this award within the existing policy and legal frameworks,” Dr Macharia announced.
Nancy also stated that the commission will immediately begin the process of recruiting 5,000 teachers to help alleviate the current teacher shortage in schools, with a focus on sub-county secondary schools, which admit the majority of students.
She stated that the government has allocated Ksh 2.5 billion to TSC for the recruitment of permanent teachers, with an additional Ksh 1.2 billion set aside for the hiring of interns.
According to Dr. Macharia, the commission will begin the first phase of training CBC secondary teachers on April 25th this year in preparation for the first cohorts of junior secondary school students in January 2023.
The training, which will be completed on May 13th, aims to train all secondary teachers by the end of the year.
