Education Department urged to Improve Teacher Appointment Process

Courtesy of NRI Media Unit A new NRI study released today shows that teacher appointments to rural and urban primary and community schools throughout the country are being conducted outside legal and policy guidelines.

Lead Author Dr Arnold Kukari said that there was a lack of compliance of the Teaching Service Commission and Education Acts and related policies in the appointment of teachers.

“This is a common practice amongst Provincial Education Boards and, to some extent, the Teaching Service Commission,” he said.

This has attracted a host of problems which include delays in teacher appointments, late resumption of duties, and corruption and lack of transparency in the process.

The study examined teacher’s lived experiences in provinces with both poor and good reputations in managing teacher appointment across the country and unveiled how the teacher appointment processes and practices affected teachers’ performances and the delivery of education services.

One of the major problems highlighted in the study was the failure of Teaching Service Commission to print and deliver the Special Education Gazette to the provinces in a timely manner.

Dr Kukari said: “The gazette has to be printed and sent to each province in June each year and provinces are expected to administer and complete their teacher appointments by October or November.”

However, the gazette has continued to arrive late in provinces, thus significantly delaying the entire teacher appointment and resumption of duty processes.

Dr Kukari said that the recommendations from the study would help to address some of the issues raised and contribute to improving and strengthening the teacher appointment process and practice, ensuring there is transparency and accountability in teacher appointments.