TSC Quality Assurance Functions Moved to Ministry of Education
Quality assurance (QAS) in the education sector will be transferred from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), where it is presently housed, to the Ministry of Education, which is also tasked with ensuring that teachers are retrained to be CBC compliant.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) employees currently conducting these duties would be transferred to the Ministry of Education under the new proposals.
In the draft report, the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) recommends harmonizing the quality assurance functions in the basic education sector by granting the ministry exclusive legal authority over the mandate.
“Quality Assurance and Standards functions should be transferred from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to the Ministry of Education,” reads the report.
In radical proposals made by the taskforce, this would imply that TSC powers could be curtailed and a proportional budget retained at the ministry.
“The quality assurance and standards function at TSC should be transferred to the Ministry of Education. This harmonization of QAS functions should be anchored in law,” reads the draft report.
The report also recommends that the directorate for quality assurance and standards be granted the legal authority to enforce the ministry’s laws, regulations, policies, and deadlines.
The report states that the powers shall include, but not be limited to, the authority to order the immediate closure of institutions that violate established regulations and to establish a system of rewards and sanctions.
The proposal is viewed as a significant solution to the gaps observed in previous years, when ministry officials supervised the death of students and the destruction of institution property due to a lack of clarity regarding jurisdiction.
The report comes to the conclusion that the decentralization of quality assurance personnel to other directorates worsens the situation with regard to inadequate human resources.
It is stated that this has continued to impede school quality assurance and standards systems.
According to the report, Early Childhood Development and Education lacks quality assurance mechanisms.
According to the report, a lack of an education standards and quality assurance commission contributes to the poor implementation of policies and regulations regulating quality assurance and standards in educational institutions.
In addition, an insufficient number of Quality Assurance and standards officers, as well as conflicts and duplication of duties, are evident in the institutions.
This has hindered the staff’s ability to develop and maintain inclusive education standards in educational institutions, as well as service delivery in terms of educational content, learning environment, and school administration.
TSC Quality Assurance Functions Moved to Ministry of Education