Technology won't render you jobless, Knut boss tells teachers

Kenya National Union of Teachers  Secretary General Collins Oyuu has allayed fears that global technological advancement may render teachers jobless.

“I declare here before teachers of this country, that no technology can replace a teachers in class. A teacher must remain in class physically,” said Oyuu in Kitui on Tuesday.

He was addressing teachers and guests at the Kitui Teachers Training College grounds during the post-World Teachers Day celebration hosted by the Kitui Knut branch under chairman Samuel Kathinuku.

The event’s theme was; “The teachers we need for the education we want; The global imperative to reverse the teachers shortage.”

The Knut secretary general alluded to the teachers shortage and the global imperative emphasising that there was no way technology could replace physical teaching in classrooms.

He dismissed recent assertion by a speaker during a global teachers’ event at the School of Government in Nairobi on October 5, that due to IT advancement, students will only be guided by teachers on how to mine information from the internet.  

“Nobody should teach us and tell us that IT will replace the physical teacher in the classroom.

“I want to declare here and now that teachers  stand to be the source of information for the learners as opposed to any other gadget that should give information to learners about what they should learn,” he said.

Oyuu instead called for the the hiring of more and better remunerated teachers to alleviate shortage in schools and a bloated workload for both teachers and learners, thus improving the quality of education.

He, however, admitted that the world was transiting from the old-school to the new world order. He thus asked teachers to acquaint themselves with technological skills relevant to digital and modern education.

Oyuu at the same time called out the TSC for introducing delocalisation of teachers through the backdoor.

He said teachers were being delocalised in the pretext of being promoted to headteachers or deputies. He said any form of delocalisation was unacceptable to teachers union.

“We are saying we will not accept delocalisation through the back door. It has to stop and teachers must as much as it is possible, be close to their families,” said the Knut secretary general.

Oyuu said the painful memories of broken families  and cases where teachers conjugal rights were reduced to favours due to delocalisation in the past where still fresh.  

He said TSC should retain teachers who are due for promotion in their current stations until vacancies crop up in the vicinity.

Oyuu at the same time welcomed the reduction of teaching subjects as contained in the recommendations of the presidential working party on education reforms report.

He said the implementation of the recommendations would be a huge relief to teachers who currently make do with an unbearable workload. He said with reduced workload, teachers would be able to offer quality education.

“A teacher who is overloaded cannot offer quality education any where,” he said.