Kenyan primary teachers have criticized the National Assembly for not actively addressing their challenges in the country.
Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) argues that the legislators have been silent on the issues they've been raising concerning their employer.
Akello Misori, the Secretary General of KUPPET, claimed that MPs haven't shown commitment to pushing the government to address these problems.
Misori mentioned that teachers have been expressing concerns about lack of promotions and shortages of teachers in schools, leading to an imbalance in the teacher-student ratio.
“Our MPs should look for ways to problems like lack of promotion and shortage of teachers in the country,”he said.
Speaking to journalists in Homa Bay town on Saturday, Misori, accompanied by his counterpart from Homa Bay county, Stephen Yogo, highlighted that many teachers have concerns they want the government to address.
Misori emphasized that these issues are well-known to the public.
Currently, the teachers have documented their concerns and presented them to their employer, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
These concerns were documented after conducting a nationwide survey.
Some MPs, including National Assembly Minority leader Opiyo Wandayi, had requested the teachers to present the survey findings to parliament to demonstrate their seriousness about the issues affecting them.
On Friday, Wandayi criticized the teachers and their unions, accusing them of not being serious about addressing their concerns.
He claimed that workers' unions in the country are not adequately addressing the issues raised by their members.“Union leaders are the failures because they sit on issues affecting workers,” Wandayi said.
However, Misori stated that they have submitted the report to the Teachers Service Commission and assured teachers that the union will continue to advocate for their concerns.
They hope the TSC will promptly address the issues affecting teachers, particularly the disparities in promotions.
He urged Wandayi to bring their concerns to parliament for discussion instead of placing blame on them.
Misori emphasized that MPs haven't given priority to discussions on matters that would benefit teachers.
“Once we have whistle-blown on some matters, it is upon the MPs to look at them. Why has the parliament approved allocation of more funds to support foreign trips than education,” the unionist said.
In the budget, the Ministry of Education is getting is little amount as compared to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.