Be realistic with your demands, Machogu tells teacher unions

By Fredrick Odiero

Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has urged teacher unions in the country to be realistic in their demands.

In a speech read on his behalf by Nyanza Regional Director of Education Nelson Sifuna at the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Annual Delegates Conference in Kisumu, Machogu said that the unions should read the mood of the country before making such demands.

His attention was drawn to demands by KNUT and KUPPET who are pushing for more pay.

Machogu said the government was not insensitive to the welfare of teachers and it was doing its level best to address their plight.

KNUT Secretary General (SG) Collins Oyuu had earlier demanded for a 60 per cent salary pay rise for teachers while his KUPPET counterpart Akello Misori also demanded the same for his members.

Oyuu lamented that many managers had been in acting positions for many years whereas the law requires that a worker acts in a position for only three months.

He further called for improved budgetary allocations for the welfare of teachers.

Oyuu asked that the Teachers Professional Development (TPD) programme should be done away with.

The SG also took issue with Kenya Women Teachers Association (KEWOTA) for deducting teachers’ money without consultation.