Study: Majority of teachers want to quit

An overwhelming majority of teachers wish to quit the profession because their 'professional and personal needs' are not met, a new study by a teachers union reveals.

The study by Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) says about 76 per cent of teachers in public schools are not happy and would leave the profession for a better deal. There are over 286, 000 teachers.

The report dubbed 'Trends of the needs of teachers in public schools in Kenya, 2015,' mirrors findings of another study conducted last year by Education International that revealed nearly half of teachers in the country want to quit because of 'unfavourable working conditions.'

The study categorised teachers' personal needs to include salaries, allowances and recognition of their efforts by the society. Professional needs include capacity building, promotions, availability of proper teaching and learning tools and security of the tutors in schools.

The study released yesterday says 35 per cent of teachers surveyed rated provision of their personal and professional needs as poor.

Another 25 per cent said the provisions of the needs is inadequate as 16 per cent said the services are not provided at all. "The effect of this is that teaches do not complete the syllabus in time, they lack knowledge and teaching skills and this leads to poor quality and delivery of services," reads the document.

Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion said the union is disturbed by the findings but noted it was not entirely unexpected. "We knew teachers are not happy but the extent of discontent has shocked us. Now we know why the absenteeism in schools is on the rise," he said, adding: "Statistics don't lie. Let persons concerned get working."