The Teachers Service Commission(TSC) has been urged to give full administrative powers to head teachers who have been given interim positions as Principals in junior secondary schools.
Kericho KNUT Executive Secretary Ann Cheruiyot said the acting Principals who have received authorization letters should be given substantive positions in the JSS.
“Mr. Chairman, as it stands, they do not have full powers to manage JSS. We are also demanding for confirmation of head teachers and their deputies who for years have served under acting capacity, “she added.
The unionist who was speaking in Kericho said it was unfortunate that those in acting capacity had been bypassed by the new administrators, who have been posted to the institutions.”She said
The Executive Secretary Kipkelion branch, Mr. David Bore led a team of KNUT officials in presenting recommendations to the Presidential Working Party on Educational Reforms.
Their position was that JSS should be domiciled in Primary Schools, a call which was adopted by the government.
In that connection, they asked the government to fast-track the improvement of infrastructure especially classrooms in Secondary and Primary Schools.
“We are confident that the issues will be addressed by the government, especially as the first budget under the current administration has been forwarded to Parliament.
We request that every Primary school should have a JSS.” He said
He added that the government should prioritize the employment of teachers and post them to the JSS and Secondary Schools to address the acute shortage adding.
“There is an acute shortage of teachers especially in the new system.
JSS learners are suffering because of insufficient teachers. Can you imagine one teacher teaching in a JSS single-handedly? Is it humanly possible?.”He said
The executive secretary also brought to light the plight of P1 teachers who have advanced their training to graduate level and are not recognized by TSC and their salary cant be increased, neither can they be deployed to teach in secondary schools.
“The reason being that they did not attain a mean grade of C+ in KCSE and C+ in two teaching subjects, rendering the training upgrade irrelevant.
This is what has demoralized teachers for the last 10 years.” He said
By Benedict Ngetich
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