By Michael Oduor
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Taita Taveta branch is urging the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to fast track the payment of hardship allowances to member teachers in Taita Taveta County.
This is after the TSC held a stakeholders meeting with local union leaders and other education stakeholders earlier during the week to agree on a progressive way of solving the challenges facing teachers.
Speaking to Education News over the phone, the KNUT Taita Taveta branch Executive Secretary Mr. Lenox Mshila reiterated that teachers are willing and ready to work but their morale has gone down following the challenges they encounter as they deliver services in schools across the county.
“Teachers morale, especially those from Wundanyi, Taveta and Rong’e has gone down. They are ready and willing to work but their morale is very low as they feel that they have been segregated for a long time,” said Mshila.
According to him, the hardship allowance will boost the morale which will see the teachers working and improving education performance in the area.
Mshila appreciated TSC for visiting Taita Taveta and promising to look into the matter and give it the best attention needed so that teachers in the area can get their hardship allowances as this gives hope to teachers in the region.
Meanwhile, following the mass recruitment of teachers back to the union that is ongoing, KNUT Taita Taveta branch is facing glory days ahead as hundreds of teachers show up and register for rejoining the union.
Currently, KNUT Taita Taveta branch has a total of 1000 teachers up from the previous record of 200 teachers with the numbers continuing to rise daily as teachers register back to the union.
Mshila projects to register over 1,800 teachers into the union, a target which seems achievable as he’s currently past 50% of the targeted number.
Reaching out to teachers and using teacher’s forums to spread information about the union are among the strategies Mshila uses to ensure that teachers turn up in large numbers to register and join the union.
“Despite the resource challenges we have, I personally move to schools to meet with teachers and also use any available forum where teachers are available to pass information about the union. As I move around, teachers are positive about the union and most of them have shown interest and are willing to join,” he said.
Mshila, besides calling for unity of purpose among teachers in the area, urges teachers to register in large numbers for KNUT membership so that the union’s negotiation power when championing teachers rights is augmented.
