The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Busia has rejected a move that requires secondary school Principals and primary school head teachers to have Masters and Bachelor degrees terming the requirement as unacceptable.
KUPPET Busia Executive Secretary Moffats Okisai has stated that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) should instead make such qualifications as added advantage, noting that the Kenya Professional Teaching Standards (KePTS) and Teacher Professional Development(TPD) modules developed by the Commission is enough to earn a teacher higher qualifications.
“Each module was expected to take five years. Generally, the six modules were to take a teacher 30 years of life -long learning. Isn’t this enough to earn a teacher a PhD in matters education? Time is ripe for us to have a regulatory body in Education sector. We’ll borrow best practices from the lawyers, Doctors, Engineers among others,” said Okisai.
“As TSC is pushing for school administrators to attain a master’s degree as a condition, let it just be an added advantage. It’s ironical to demand for a principal of a school with an enrollment of 100 students to have a master’s degree and a president in charge of 50 million citizens to only have a degree as a requirement to govern,” he added.
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Okisai has further called for speedy review of Career Progression Guidelines (CPG) for teachers as directed by the President during the recent forum with teachers in State House on September 13, 2025 and reverting to Scheme of Service for promotion of teachers.
“Not every teacher aspires to be a principal. KUPPET demands for the review of the restrictive CPG as directed by the president. We advocate for an equitable scheme of service that allows for diverse career paths accommodating both administrative and non-administrative progression. Teachers must progress without being confined to administrative roles,” said Okisai.
He also questioned why Prof. Raphael Munavu’s led Presidential working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) departed from other past recommendations notably the 2020 Fatuma Chege Task force report on Enhancing Access, Relevance, Transition, Equity and Quality for effective Curriculum reforms, which recommended domiciling of Junior Secondary school (JSS) in secondary schools.
“Infrastructure in senior schools is well established to offer quality education to the learners. Workshops and laboratories are fully developed. Currently, students desirous of pursuing pre-technical areas in Aviation, Electricity, Power Mechanics, Wood Work, Metal Work, Building and Construction. These students lack the basic foundation skills and knowledge. Interestingly, they are expected to pursue these fields of study in senior schools,” said Okisai.
By Our Reporter
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