Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers has announced that an agreement has been made with the Teachers Service Commission to withdraw show-cause letters sent to Junior Secondary School intern teachers who have been protesting across the country.
Kuppet secretary general Akelo Misori said the JSS teachers should return to class by Monday as the show-cause letters had been withdrawn.
"The union and the Commission have agreed that all show-cause letters and notices to exit earlier issued to the teachers will be withdrawn and normalcy returned to the JSS institutions not later than Monday, June 3 2024," Misori said.
The Kuppet boss said the union's National Executive Board has facilitated a return-to-work formula for JSS teachers who have boycotted classes for over two weeks to demand their employment on permanent and pensionable terms.
Misori said the NGC meeting on May 29, 2024, mandated the NEB to use its leverage and forestall any counterproductive measures against the JSS teachers.
"In particular, the NGC deplored the show-cause letters issued by the TSC to the teachers," he said.
He said the union fully supports the teachers’ demand for employment on permanent and pensionable terms in accordance with the judgment of the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELCR).
"The court held that the teachers’ internship employment terms were illegal and unconstitutional," he said.
"Accordingly, punishing the teachers for participating in legitimate labour action would be counterproductive to the stability in the sector, which is the lynchpin of the Competency-Based Curriculum."
He commended the union's National Executive Board’s efforts to lobby Parliament for the provision of Sh8.3 billion for the conversion of 26,000 intern teachers to permanent and pensionable terms in July this year.
"The Sh8.3 billion should cater for all intern teachers hired in January 2023," he said.
Misori demanded that the Sh 4.68 billion earmarked for new recruitment be used strictly for permanent and pensionable employment, with further funds to be provided to convert the second cohort of teachers hired in September 2023.
He said the NGC revisited the issue of the domiciling of JSS in primary schools which lack not only the required number of teachers but also critical infrastructure like laboratories, libraries, and facilities for co-curricular activities needed for studies at the junior secondary level.
Misori said because of their domicile in primary schools, the learners are missing out on vital practical knowledge across the spectrum and most disastrously in the sciences.
"Once again, the NGC urged the government to domicile the JSS in the existing secondary schools," he said.
