By Staff Reporter
Between May 2019 and October 2020, Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) membership shrunk from more than 180,000 to less than 50,000, translating to 72 per cent decline.
This number is set to fade further with reports indicating that the Teachers Service Commission gave teachers up to November to exit their union membership before the T-Pay Portal is retired.
Unlike the Kenya Union for Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), the move has had a negative toll on KNUT as thousands of members have quit with fears of the viability of some branches.
KNUT has 110 branches in the country and mathematically, this means that some branches have less than 1,000 members.
“The situation is dire that a number of branches have less than 100 members,” noted one branch Executive Secretary.
With the decreased membership, the branches will not get enough resources to undertake activities such as paying for office space and paying staff.
According to the KNUT Revised Constitution 2015, the union shall consist of branches organized, as far as possible, on District basis, whose membership shall be approved by the National Executive Council on application.
It goes on to state that each branch shall have at least 1,000 members and mathematically, this means that some branches have less than 1,000 members.
Based on this data, a number of branches do not conform with the above requirement hence not viable with rising fears over the collapse of the union.
However, KNUT Secretary General Wilson Sossion put on a brave face and brushed off fears of imminent collapse of the union.
Speaking during the burial of KNUT Narok Branch Executive Secretary Paul Lepore on October 17th 2020 in Narok, Sossion said the union is intact and will not extinct.
“The biggest problem facing us is fear for speaking the truth. We have not wronged anyone,” he said, terming it unimaginable that KNUT, just like the Catholic Church, will close its doors.
With the declining membership, a number of union officials fear that the future of the union is at stake as lack of the threshold might deny it the opportunity to negotiate on behalf of teachers.
However, beneath the aura of confidence, a number of officials are worried on the direction the union is taking.
Speaking at the same ceremony, 1st National Vice Chairman Collins Oyuu pointed an accusing finger at the Commission saying it is preparing the union’s deathbed.
“Just like the country is struggling due to Covid-19, KNUT is equally struggling and I know for sure our death bed has been prepared but we shall not die,” Oyuu said.
Oyuu said that members who are in post primary institutions are being removed from the KNUT list every single day, raising fears on the direction the union is taking.
“Every single, members in post primary institutions and affiliated to KNUT are being manually removed,” he said.
This is the same uncertainty in the branches with one branch Executive Secretary saying curtly that the challenging times is ahead.
“We do not know what to do and are instead waiting to see the next course of action,” stated the branch official.
KNUT Teso Branch Executive Secretary Owaya Adungo said the union needs political intervention goodwill to survive these difficult times.
“The President is aware of what the union is going through and I understand an emissary has briefed him on the same,” he said.
Though Adungo noted that the existence of the union is supported by the 2010 Constitution Education Act, a number of teachers have to social media to vent their desperation.
“KNUT is there for a reason but again, strong unions in the world are always endangered,” he said.
KNUT Kakamega South Branch Executive Secretary Archedius Liyayi said the union enjoys massive goodwill among teachers and given an opportunity, thousands will join.
“Thousands of teachers still want to join the union,” he said, lambasting the Commission for only allowing members quit but not to join the union.
Even with the declining membership, Liyayi remained optimistic that nothing can be done to change the existing structures.
“We cannot change the structure until such a time we are satisfied that the declining membership is not the union’s mess,” he said.
Liyayi however underscored the union’s network as a strength that will give it the much-needed impetus to spring forward when an opportunity will present itself.
“Though the T-Portal gave teachers a chance to quit and not to join, our excellent network will see us rise from the current crisis to shine again,” he said.
The KNUT official ruled out the merging of the branches saying majority have different activities such as investing together and amalgamating them will make things difficult.
