Union wants rules on hiring ECD teachers

By ROSELYNE OBALA

Kenya: A teachers’ union wants the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and county governments to formulate clear guidelines for recruitment of pre-primary teachers and regulate the curriculum.

Counties say they have hired about 50,000 Early Childhood Education (ECD) teachers; an exercise contested by TSC that claims the recruitment is its preserve.

But the Kenya Union of Pre-Primary Education Teachers (Kunoppet) said the teachers’ employer had failed to discharge its function as stipulated in Article 237 of the Constitution, which vests the responsibility of registering trained teaching staff under its jurisdiction.

“The governors’ resolve to employ these teachers is therefore remedial because TSC has deliberately refused to take up its responsibility,” said Kunoppet Chairman Samuel Opiyo.

Mr Opiyo’s sentiments are clearly indicated in a letter addressed to Council of Governors Chairman Isaac Ruto.

Untrained teachers

Lack of regulation has allowed untrained people to teach unwarranted and unauthenticated curricula to young and vulnerable children.

“We want a clear policy framework as far as the recruitment of pre-primary school teachers is concerned,” Opiyo said.

He pressed county governments to furnish them with the policy framework harmonising the employment of nursery school teachers in their counties.

Opiyo said the union will move to court to have TSC surcharged for damages by untrained teachers’ on innocent pupils.

He affirmed that though they laud the move by governors to hire the teaching staff, they have reservation on how the exercise is done.