Why teachers support Azimio la Umoja

Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary General COLLINS HENRY OYUU speaks to NATHAN OCHUNGE about life after the exit of Wilson Sossion, why the union endorsed Azimio and mental health among Kenyan teachers

It is one year since you took over leadership of KNUT. What have you achieved?

Before we took over, our 110 branches in the country were not functional. All are now operational. Our relationship with different government agencies that had deteriorated is now back on track. Currently, we can talk to each other as opposed to shouting at each other. All our branch executive committees, the National Executive Council (NEC) and National Steering Committee are functional.

You took over when membership of the union had shrunk. What are the numbers today?

We were like a dead union in terms of membership. Many teachers are now coming back. A year ago, we were less than 11,000 but the number has risen to 115,000 and more teachers are streaming in.

How does not KNUT relate with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the Government?

Cordial, I would say. We have mended fences.  That’s the way it should be between an employer and the employee. Our duty is to negotiate on behalf of our members with the employer as opposed to being at loggerheads with the employer coupled with too much litigation. That can only happen when we have industrial harmony and cordial relationship. There is no business you can do with TSC if don’t relate with its leadership well.

Teachers accused unions of signing a non-monetary CBA. But last week, you had a meeting with TSC in Naivasha. Anything cooking for teachers?

We had to sign the non-monetary Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) because if we had not done that, we will be considered persona non grata in union matters. It was a requirement from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC). It not just KNUT who signed to the non-monetary CBC but other workers’ unions signed the same, including the Kenya Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET).  Even in 2016, when I was the deputy secretary general, we signed a non-monetary CBA, which opened new negotiations just after a year.

Has KNUT cleared its debts? There were reports of an auction after Wilson Sossion left.

We had debts in excess of Sh300 million and the bulk of it was owed to the Kenya Revenue Authority over non-remittance of statutory deductions that had accrued for a period of five years. The numbers had shrunk and even our branch officials were not being paid but KRA cannot listen to that. They will follow you up with their calculations and slap you with penalties. You stage an argument with them, you will be digging your own grave but now, we are happy we have reduced the debt by three quarters. We also owed several law firms colossal sums of money since we had a lot of litigation going on and we have now paid a good number of them. We hope to clear the debts before the end of this year and soldier ahead in working for our members.

KNUT endorsed Azimio. Do you believe teachers listen to the KNUT leadership?

It’s true we took the bold decision and endorsed Azimio la Umoja coalition. Traditionally, we work with the government of the day and we cannot oppose proposals of the government. If the government is for Azimio la Umoja, who am I to drag the teachers in the opposite direction? President Uhuru Kenyatta is for Azimio and is the head of the government and any other union should learn from the stand we took. You can’t get along with everybody in matters politics. Everyone has a democratic right to choose which coalition to support.

What drove this endorsement?

We want to avoid frictions as we don’t belong there. Ours is to advocate for better terms of service to our teachers.

How would you rate the Uhuru administration’s handling of teachers’ issues?

The current CBA we are enjoying was signed during his reign and we are still pushing for more deals with him. Employment of teachers is our major priority to bridge the gap of teacher shortage and better remuneration for our teachers. There is nothing strange in his relationship with the teachers.

Would you say the government exploited internal fights within Knut to weaken teachers?

Hell no. Unions have always had wrangles and even now, we have some people who are out there planning how to get my seat. To say the government is behind our wrangles is absurd.

Did the Covid-19 pandemic impact the mental health of teachers?

Many teachers were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and those who lost their loved ones, it took a toll on them and became unstable. The pandemic interfered with the teachers’ mental health. We, as Knut, lost our officials even here at the headquarters, including the deputy national treasurer.

Do teachers suffering mental health issues have a support system?

We approached the TSC to help us manage the mental illness among our teachers and the employer responded by putting up 23 wellness centres in 23 counties, and we have 24 others to go. At the wellness centres, we have fitness programmes and psyco-social support from our peer counsellors stationed at the facility.

What are the most urgent issues in the education sector that the incoming government should deal with?

We want more teachers to handle our learners both in primary and secondary school but staffing is a major problem. Last year, TSC placed an advert for 14,000 vacancies but 308,000 trained teachers applied for the few slots available. This indicates that many teachers are out of employment against the slim chances being offered. The incoming government should consider employing more teachers and give them good remuneration. More classes should also be constructed to reduce overpopulation in classrooms. The classes that were built last year are already full. Dormitories are four times full to their normal capacity and some schools have converted their dining halls into dormitories. 

What’s Knut’s position on corporal punishment?

Corporal punishment is outlawed globally and we are in support of the global trends, so we are not in support of it.

What’s your assessment of CBC so far?

CBC is here to stay and those talking of abolishing it should think twice. We are already at Grade Six and come 2023, we shall be moving to Grade Seven. What we only need to do is to address the challenges we are facing like staffing and equipping of the CBC classes.

Do you think we are ready for the shift to Junior Secondary School next year?

Grade Six learners must proceed to Junior Secondary next year. However, we propose that Grade Seven, Eight and Nine should be domiciled within primary school by taking advantage of the existing infrastructure. We even have primary school teachers who have the requisite qualifications to teach in the junior secondary even up to Grade 11 since we got teachers with degrees and doctorate degrees. This is the reason TSC releases 1,000 primary teachers to go and teach in secondary schools. But the talk of giving capitation to private schools should not be reviewed since they are well off. Such resources should be redirected to public schools.