By Edwin Makiche
Bomet, Kenya: The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) has petitioned the Government to increase funding to the sector.
The union decried that Sh15.2 billion the Government set aside for the education sector was insufficient adding that key areas were not factored in.
Speaking in Bomet over the weekend, union’s national officials Wilson Sossion (National Chairman), Mudzo Nzili (Acting Secretary general) and Paul Mutisya (National treasurer) accused the Government on reneging on its promise to employ 40,000 primary and secondary school teachers every year and 24,000 ECDE teachers.
They also petitioned the Government to set aside monies for training teachers on ICT skills ahead of the introduction of free laptops for Standard One pupils beginning next year.
“The Government should be alive to the fact that Kenyan teachers are ill prepared to handle Standard One pupils come next year. A comprehensive training program on ICT should therefore be rolled out with an immediate effect,” said Nzili.
On his side, Sossion petitioned Professor Jacob Kaimenyi, the Cabinet Secretary for Education to fast track the scrapping of legal notice number 16 of 2003 (Remuneration of Teachers amendment order of 2003) to pave way for the implementation of the legal notice number 534 of 1997 which formed the basis of the collective bargain agreement between the Teachers Service Commission and Knut.
Sossion said the former Education minister and Makueni Senator, the late Mutula Kilonzo had signed a commitment to scrap the legal notice days before the March 4 General Election.
Union’s Treasurer Paul Mutisya said the union would soon implement an order to compel teachers who do not belong to any union but benefit from their lobbying to remit four per cent of their basic salary to the Knut kitty as agency fee.
