The government will employ an extra 20,000 teachers in the next financial year in a bid to address the current shortage mainly in Junior Secondary Schools (JSS).
In a joint meeting between the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), it was further agreed that over 30,000 teachers would be promoted.
This emerged at the end of a six-day engagement between the teachers’ representatives and the commission at Sawela Lodge in Naivasha.
Incidentally, senior officials from TSC were conspicuously absent during a media briefing by the KUPPET National Executive Committee.
Addressing the press, KUPPET National Chairman Milemba Omboko said that of the 50,000 teachers who had stagnated for years, 30,000 would benefit in the coming financial year
Omboko noted that since 2017, the majority of teachers had not been promoted adding that the Naivasha meeting had resolved this with effect from June this year.
He said that Sh4bn would be required for the employment of the 20,000 teachers who would come in handy in addressing the crisis in JSS across the country.
Flanked by the top union officials, Omboko said that the government had promised to relook into the teacher’s medical cover.
“The government will look at the implementation of new Group Life Cover, Group Personal Accident Cover and Work Injury Benefits insurance for teachers as part of the medical scheme,” he said.
On his part, the union secretary general Akelo Misori said that of the 20,000 teachers who would be employed in JSS, 2,000 would be posted to ASAL regions.
He added that TSC had agreed that in January 2025, it would convert all the 26,000 intern teachers recruited in 2023 to permanent and pensionable terms.
“TSC has agreed to the union’s demand to review the Career Progression Guidelines that have contributed to stagnation among teachers and to develop new career Guidelines through public participation,” he said.
Misori added that the union was satisfied by the recent promotion of over 50,000 teachers after an audit indicated that only 14 cases had issues.
“The Commission has addressed our concerns about the promotion of teachers not in the payroll and explained the remedy for 14 teachers who earned the promotion while not being in the payroll,” he said.
The SG expressed the union's concern over poor staffing of schools, in particular Junior Secondary Schools where only two teachers per stream were currently handling all the learning areas.
“The Commission will seek an allocation of Sh1 billion for the promotion of 30,000 teachers who have stagnated for years,” he said.
On delayed pension for teachers, Misori said that TSC was working jointly with the Department of Pensions on administrative action to hasten the pension processes.