KNUT IRKED BY GOVERNMENT ON TEACHER REPLACEMENT NUMBER

The Kenya National Union of Teachers Bomet branch officials have expressed their discontent over the number of teachers the government through the Teachers Service Commission will employ as replacement of the teachers who have left the service.

While addressing journalists yesterday the branch executive secretary Mr. Malel Langat and the chairman Mr. Francis Tonui said that the government had erred by declaring that they will employ 4,325 teachers as a replacement for the teachers leaving the service through resignation, retirement, and natural attrition.According to them, the education sector needed more than 85, 000 teachers countrywide for both public secondary and primary schools.

“For TSC to say it will employ only 4,000 teachers is unfortunate as that number is a drop in the sea with the current teacher shortage standing around 85, 000,” Mr. Malel said.

Mr. Malel also added that what the government should have done is to concern itself with fresh employment of teachers countrywide to meet the growing demand.According to him when the government says that they are replacing teachers they don’t exactly send teachers in schools left vacant and the number is usually lower than leaving service.

He pointed out that more than 300 teachers had left the service through various reasons this year alone and the Bomet County’s teacher shortage is over 3,000.This shortage of teachers in the county is compromising the quality of education being given.

The officials revealed that 1,423 teachers were required in primary schools while 1,911 teachers were required in secondary schools to meet the county existing teacher shortage.They further lamented the parents in the region have been given a burden of employing board teachers

Currently, 1,769 teachers are employed by parents in public secondary schools while 1,556 teachers are under the employ of PTA in public primary schools in the county and they wonder how the number employed by parents is more than that employed by government., yet it’s the work of government to employ teachers.