By Roy Hezron
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has defended its recent move to push the retirement age of its national and branch officials from 60-65 years.
KNUT argued that the problem of the union and which is work in progress is in the other 13 items of the resolutions as captured in the secretary general Collins Oyuu’s report.
The issues include the 2017-2021 CBA, 2021-2025 CBA, delocalization , promotions, transfer of teachers, TPD and KNUT position, TSC wellness and gender desks, the relationship between KNUT, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour, membership recruitment drive, branch by-elections and school representative’s elections, internal matters, minimal constitutional amendments and relations with the Labour Centre and teacher associations.
The minimal constitutional amendments factors in the increase in retirement age from 60-65 yrs among other issues.
“The elephant in the house is not age. We repeat that our issue is the many other items that are pertinent and which directly touch our lives as teachers,” reads the union’s official communiqué regarding the issue and as seen by Education News.
The communiqué adds that: “Teachers know very well that good leadership may not necessarily be manifest out of age; that maturity is not only about age; that wisdom is sacred and it can manifest even in children. Leaders do not fight over insignificant innuendoes and sideshows… leaders manifest themselves in finding solutions to difficult circumstances that cannot be solved by ordinary thinkers! At the moment; age 65 is what someone out there thinks can give him another life since he created himself through the media as a cat that has nine lives! Teachers; rather delegates are just human shields that have been created to help in the reincarnation.”
A section of KNUT delegates protested against the resolution to increase the retirement age from 60 to 65 by walking out of the SDC.
The issue of increase in age had been suggested by National Executive Council (NEC) in their past meetings and NEC is mandated to conduct the amendments. The union last amended its constitution in 2015.
“The Secretary General’s speech which is normally NEC’s report was properly read and articulated by Collins Henry Oyuu. The SG then proposed the report for discussion and it was seconded by Mr. Benson Ndambuki. The National Chairman {Patrick Karinga} then led the delegates into discussing the report. No one raised a descending opinion formally for discussion. It therefore means all the proposals went unopposed,” added the communiqué.
