How to Apply; Teachers to start applying for teaching jobs abroad.
Online applications for teaching positions in seventeen countries across America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia will be accepted from unemployed instructors registered with the instructors Service Commission (TSC).
According to sources, the Commission is now ready to provide the guidelines and regulatory framework that will allow the thousands of teachers who are currently without jobs to work abroad.
Through TSC, the government intends to send 354,234 unemployed teachers to work in seventeen countries overseas.
All registered instructors who hold a certificate, diploma, or degree from an accredited institution are qualified to work overseas, according to TSC CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia.
According to Macharia, the following nations have asked for our teaching services: the United States, Ireland, Germany, France, Canada, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, Russia, Spain, China, Kuwait, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Botswana.
The Commission has previously created rules and a policy framework to help the thousands of teachers without jobs find employment overseas.
The policy framework that will inform unemployed instructors about the prerequisites and application process for teaching positions abroad will be introduced by TSC.
The program was created in response to calls from other governments for the export of Kenyan instructors, according to CEO Nancy Macharia.
There is a great need for Kenyan instructors in the United States, Ireland, and Germany, particularly those who can teach English, according to our study and discussions with the State Department of Diaspora Affairs.
For individuals who are able to teach Kiswahili, there is South Africa, followed by Thailand and various Middle Eastern nations. According to Ms. Macharia, “the policy is a targeted response to this market demand.”
The commission claims that as of May 2024, it has 714,234 teachers on its registry, of which 360,000 were permanently employed by the TSC.
Other nations that are targeted for teacher exports include Qatar (Islamic religious education and science teachers), Kuwait, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates, all of which need teachers with special education needs. China, France, Botswana, and Japan are in need of Kiswahili teachers, according to Ms. Macharia.
France, Canada, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea, Russia, Spain, China, and the United Arab Emirates, she continued, are in need of English-teaching professionals.
Through government-to-government labor export programs, the positions will be made overseas.
Several delegations have approached the commission to request cooperation for the export initiative. As a result, a policy framework had to be created to direct the procedure. As a government agency, TSC will collaborate closely with the Labor and Foreign Affairs Ministries, who will be in charge of investigating the markets for teacher exports, Ms. Macharia stated.
The selection criteria will outline the fundamental abilities, credentials, and work history needed for a particular foreign teaching position.
A teacher must be a citizen of Kenya, have finished their training, earned a degree, diploma, or certificate in education from an accredited institution, and fulfilled further TSC registration criteria in order to be eligible for placement overseas.
The teacher must fulfill the criteria of Chapter Six of the Constitution and be registered with the TSC.
The host nation may also impose extra criteria on the instructor, such as professional certificates, specialized training, language skills, or other job-specific requirements.
According to the policy document, “the commission will coordinate with the relevant ministries and agencies to offer an orientation program for the chosen teachers that will address matters such as security, health care, transportation, terms of engagement, compensation, career counseling and development, cultural sensitivity, transparency and accessibility, language proficiency (if applicable), and particular educational practices common in the host nation.”
Standardized contracts that include all facets of the terms and conditions of employment, including as pay, work hours, benefits, housing, insurance, and repatriation arrangements, will also be promoted by the TSC.
“In order to accept teaching posts abroad, TSC employees who are on permanent and pensionable terms must leave their current roles. To prevent disruptions to teaching and learning, the TSC will fill these positions. According to the guideline, instructors who return are not assured employment but will be able to apply for positions when they become available.
Some instructors who had found teaching positions in the United States were flagged off by Musalia Mudavadi, the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, in July. However, this was a placement agency-organized endeavor rather than a government one.
The policy framework, according to the document, will formalize the participation of Kenyan teachers serving overseas and safeguard their interests by “collaborating with relevant stakeholders and partners to provide guidance on clear, fair, and competitive terms and conditions of service for Kenyan teachers to be employed outside the Kenyan borders.”
Additionally, it seeks to foster cooperative relationships with the host nations. It promotes lifelong learning and international educational cooperation by using a methodical methodology that gives instructors of various backgrounds access to possibilities overseas.
Accordingly, the statement states that “the application of this policy framework will support Kenyan teachers as they venture into the international labor market where they will apply their skills and competencies.”
Kenya has a teacher shortage, yet the government hasn’t been able to hire all of the certified and registered tutors.
When the TSC posted an advertisement for 46,000 positions in October of this year, 314,117 applications were received, underscoring the high prevalence of unemployment among recent graduates.
For years, the government has been unable to address the personnel shortages in schools at all levels. Since its implementation two years ago, junior school has been the most severely affected.
President William Ruto pledged to hire 116,000 people in two years during his 2022 presidential campaign, but it has proven to be a challenging undertaking.
“Kenyan teachers have access to priceless professional development opportunities through international teaching.” Their efficacy as instructors is increased by exposure to other educational systems, pedagogical approaches, and cultural situations.
The strategy paper also states that Kenyan teachers who work outside help to generate remittances, which sustain their families and increase the nation’s foreign exchange profits.
In accordance with the policy, the TSC will create and keep an up-to-date database of Kenyan educators who are open to working abroad and pair them with appropriate jobs. A selection criterion for the teachers will also be established by the commission.
“A database that facilitates real-time data entry, storage, and retrieval of information on teachers—including personal information, academic and professional credentials, areas of expertise, host country, and any pertinent information—will be established by the commission. Additionally, the database will help with reporting and data analysis,” the document states.
Teachers will subsequently be able to submit their qualifications and indicate their interest in teaching opportunities overseas through a standardized application process established by the TSC. Only authorized personnel will be able to access the database.
In addition to the policy framework being reviewed every three years or as needed, the database will have a feedback mechanism to collect opinions from educators regarding the registration and matching process.
The administration of President William Ruto has made labor migration a central component of their employment creation strategy.
Critics of the policy object to the slave-like conditions of some of the low-level work available, particularly in the Middle East, and ask why the government shouldn’t generate jobs locally.
How to Apply; Teachers to start applying for teaching jobs abroad.
