TSC Offences and Evidence That Can Lead to Teachers Interdiction

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TSC Offences and Evidence That Can Lead to Teachers Interdiction.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has released a detailed framework outlining the offences that may lead to interdiction of teachers in Kenya. Interdiction is a disciplinary suspension pending investigation and does not mean termination of employment. The following categories, clauses breached and documentary evidence have been established as the basis for interdiction.

TSC Offences and Evidence That Can Lead to Teachers Interdiction.

1. IMMORAL BEHAVIOR

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has sounded the alarm over the high number of male teachers deregistered for professional misconduct, particularly sexual offences against learners.

According to the latest data from TSC, 470 teachers have been deregistered in the last 5 years, 90% (419) of them being male. 5 female teachers were removed from the register during the same period. 46 cases were not gendered.

In the latest update, 32 out of 33 deregistered teachers were male, a trend the Commission describes as persistent and worrying.

Offences:

• Sexual intercourse
• Sodomy
• Lesbianism
• Sexual harassment, flirtation or indecent acts
• Love relationships
• Exposure of learners to pornographic materials

Clause Breached: (a)(i), (a)(ii), (a)(iii), (a)(iv)

Teachers found guilty of carnal knowledge or other forms of sexual misconduct are interdicted, taken through disciplinary process and if found guilty, permanently dismissed and deregistered under the Code of Regulations for Teachers. Convicted individuals are also put into the national sex offenders register maintained by the DCI and the Judiciary and cannot get certificates of good conduct or secure employment in future.

Required Evidence:

• Handwritten statements from victims and witnesses
• Exhibits including love letters, photographs, gifts and agreements
• Court proceedings
• Investigation reports by heads of institutions, County Directors or Sub-County Directors
• Minutes of Boards of Management (BOM) following interviews
• County discipline panel minutes

Teacher unions have condemned the rising cases of sexual misconduct and asked for strict enforcement of professional ethics. Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Deputy Secretary-General Hesbon Otieno says most of the appeals they handle are for male teachers accused of sexual offences but noted that TSC’s decisions are often upheld. He reiterated the union’s commitment to ongoing ethics and child protection training for teachers.

2. PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT

A. Negligence of Duty

Offences:

• Willful neglect or improper performance of assigned work
• Failure to teach scheduled lessons
• Failure to prepare professional documents such as schemes of work
• Allowing examination cheating
• Grading fake marks
• Failure to perform Teacher On Duty (T.O.D.) responsibilities
• Failure to attend school assemblies and official meetings
• Failure to take students for official functions

Clause Breached: (b)(i)

Required Evidence:

• Staff meeting minutes
• Police reports
• Written reports by supervisors and County Directors
• Statements from witnesses
• Minutes of interviews of teachers and witnesses
• Investigation reports

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B. Chronic Absenteeism

Offences:

• Persistent or repeated absence without permission
• Lateness for duty

Clause Breached: (b)(iii)

Required Evidence:

• Casualty returns
• Correspondence from authorities reporting absence
• Monthly staff returns
• Warning or show-cause letters
• Daily attendance registers or clock-in records

C. Desertion of Duty

Offences:

• Absence without written permission for 14 continuous days
• Failure to report after study leave expiry* Unauthorized study leave
• Failure to report to new station after transfer

Clause Breached: (b)(iv)

Required Evidence:

• Casualty returns
• Letters reporting desertion or non-reporting
• Study leave approval letters indicating return dates
• Monthly staff returns

D. Insubordination

Offences:

• Failure to obey official instructions
• Failure to respond to supervisors’ correspondence
• Non-compliance with posting instructions
• Proceeding on transfer without formal release
• Failure to forward correspondence
• Failure to handover or takeover institutions
• Failure to submit books of accounts

Clause Breached: (b)(vi)

Required Evidence:

• Written reports by County Directors or supervisors
• Directives issued and evidence of non-compliance
• Statements from witnesses
• Minutes of the full BOM and disciplinary panels
• Investigation reports
• Staff meeting minutes
• Police reports
• Medical reports

E. Infamous Conduct in any Professional Aspect

Offences:

• Drunkenness or intoxication during working hours
• Fighting in public or violent behavior
• Conduct contravening Chapter Six of the Constitution

Clause Breached: (c)(i), (c)(ii), (c)(iii)

Required Evidence:

• Written reports by agents
• Show-cause letters
• Witness statements
• BOM minutes
• Investigation reports
• Police reports
• Medical reports

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F. Forgery, Impersonation, Collusion, Fraud, and Corruption

Offences:

• Payment to teachers not on duty
• Failure to report offences
• Forged signatures or stamps
• Fraudulent registration
• Submission of false staff returns
• Submission of forged certificates
• Misrepresentation or falsification
• Examination irregularities
• Clause Breached: (d)

Required Evidence:

• Sample signatures or stamps
• Forged documents
• Confirmation of documents by issuing authorities
• Investigation reports
• Statements by impersonated persons or experts

G. Mismanagement, Misappropriation or Embezzlement of Public Funds

Definitions:

• Mismanagement: Inefficient use of funds likely to cause loss
• Misappropriation: Use of funds for unauthorized purposes
• Embezzlement: Fraudulent conversion of entrusted funds
• Clause Breached: (e)

Required Evidence:

• BOM minutes and financial reports presented to BOM
• Audited accounts and promissory notes
• Investigation reports and accounting documents

H. Conviction of Criminal Offence

Offences:

• Conviction of a criminal offence
• Conviction of a sexual offence or offence against a learner
• Conviction rendering the individual unfit to be a teacher
• Clause Breached: (f)

Required Evidence:

• Casualty returns indicating date of arrest or imprisonment
• Charge sheets detailing offences
• Certified court proceedings and judgments
• Reports from relevant authorities

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Conclusion

Section 30 of the Teachers Service Commission Act, 2012 requires the Commission to publish the names, registration numbers and dates of removal of deregistered teachers to ensure transparency and protect learners by preventing barred individuals from re-entering the teaching profession.

TSC cited various reasons for deregistration including immoral conduct, criminal convictions, fraud and professional misconduct. Cases of sexual exploitation of learners – often referred to in disciplinary proceedings as carnal knowledge – have become more common.

The Commission further clarified that all teachers under interdiction are given opportunity to respond to allegations before final decisions are made as per laws and regulations.

TSC Offences and Evidence That Can Lead to Teachers Interdiction.