By Vitalis Kimutai
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) has ruled out creation of branches in newly created districts.
First national Vice-Chairman Wilson Sossion said districts that do not have more than 2,000 union members would not be divorced from their mother branches.
"Structures in the union are being worked out to ensure districts without the requisite numbers remain in their mother branches," said Mr Sossion.
Few schools
The move, he said, was meant to enhance efficiency, adding some of the newly created districts had too few schools to warrant the formation of a branch.
He was speaking at the weekend during a fundraising drive at Motigo Secondary School in Bomet.
The function was attended by Home Affairs Assistant Minister Beatrice Kones, Knut branch executive secretaries Joseph Kitur (Trans Mara) and Paul Bii (Bomet).
Sossion said youthful professionals should be incorporated into school boards to provide new direction in the implementation policies.
"The old guard needs to step aside for youngsters to manage schools and implement education policies in line with the dynamics in education and employment sectors," Sossion said.
Mrs Kones told secondary schools heads to ensure most students admitted to their institutions were local.
"Local secondary schools are offshoots from primary schools and the principals should ensure students are drawn from within as parents spend a lot of money developing the institutions," she said.
The MP said some secondary schools had failed to admit students from neighbouring primary institutions. Bii said lack of teachers in some schools had hampered curriculum implementation, leading to poor performance in national exams.
"The Government should employ the 60,000 additional teachers required in public schools," Bii said.
