Kuppet pushes for promotion of more teachers next year

Teacher Service Commission CEO Nancy Macharia (centre) chats with Parliamentary Education Committee members Jerusha Momanyi and Rebecca Tonkei when she appeared before the committee to respond to recruitment and promotion of teachers. [Elvis Ogina,Standard]

A teachers' union has asked the government to increase the number of teachers it plans to promote next year.

In an advertisement dated December 22, the Teachers Service Commission said it intends to promote 13,713 teachers in primary and secondary schools to leadership positions.

However, the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) is of the opinion that more teachers than that should be promoted to help bridge the shortage.

"There is a need to amend the advert and increase the number of teachers who should be promoted," the union's secretary-general Akello Misori told The Standard.

In the meantime, Misori asked teachers to be patient as they await the outcome of the talks Kuppet officials will soon have with the TSC over the matter.

"I hope TSC decision will be informed by the real need to amend and adjust the promotional advert of teachers, especially in job groups C3 and C4," Misori said.

Orwa Jasolo, Kuppet's Migori County Executive Secretary, echoed Misori's sentiments saying job groups C3 and C5, which form the bulk of post-primary school classroom teachers (80 per cent), were never allocated a share in the advert by TSC.

Orwa noted from a total of over 110,000 post-primary teachers, only 3,000 teachers were set to be promoted, representing only 0.2 per cent. "The number of Kuppet members set for promotion in the plan is like a drop in the ocean."

"Most of the advertised promotions will benefit teachers in the higher grades. That means just a few teachers are set to benefit from the promotions as the majority, classroom teachers in lower grades, remain stagnated in the same job groups without a pay rise and advancement of their careers," said Orwa.

He said many teachers stagnated in job grades C3 and C5 for between five and 22 years yet there has been no position being advertised for the same job group.

"The TSC must find a way of including classroom teachers in the promotion because they are the ones implementing the curriculum at the school level," said Orwa.

Area Kuppet treasurer Florence Odour said: "What the TSC is claiming to be a promotion is actually a change of grades and job group names."

She urged the TSC to listen to the pleas of teachers and address their concerns, in terms of promotions and pay rise.

In the advertisement, TSC indicated it was also targeting teachers in regular schools.

Before pulling down the advert a few days ago, TSC targeted teachers in Special Needs Education institutions.