By Lydia Ngoolo
Makueni County Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Executive Secretary Justus Kimeu has expressed member’s concerns saying they are totally against the proposed Teachers Professional Development (TPD) training.
Speaking during a press briefing at his Wote office, Kimeu noted that teachers were not comfortable with the payments of modules launched by Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for the trainings.
Kimeu in his letter addressed to Secretary General, KUPPET Kenya, said teachers strongly believe the employer should sponsor an in service programme of employees whenever need arises and not the other way round.
“Shockingly, teachers are not happy to be referred to as semi-skilled when all the professionals in this country pass through their hands. Having not attained all that our employer wants us to go back for this does not mean they are semi-skilled. None of them is not trained,” he added.
The teachers feel that there are many things which were left without consideration in TPD. The members are eager to know how the employer came up with the decision to send teachers back to class.
“It is important for us to know whether it’s the quality of service, poor results or curriculum change,” added Kimeu.
The unionist further wondered whether TPD is founded on the claims that there were gaps in the formation of teaching and whether those gaps were addressed in the ongoing teachers training.
Apparently, another member’s concern is whether the teachers who are yet to graduate, those with masters and PhD need the training.
They questioned whether the unique TPAD challenges will be addressed when teachers from different teaching environment are bundled together in the training.
“We are concerned whether our remuneration will be reviewed upwards and when. Are there other universities in this country that can offer this training apart from the selected universities that appear skewed on a certain region of the country,” Wondered Kimeu.
However, the teachers feel that the union should consult with the TSC to restructure the training and have teachers trained close to their work.
They suggested that be given training allowances while training period is considerably reduced to less than two years considering that PhD takes less than three years.
“We also feel that paying for the modules is unfair as it takes back the teachers annual leave allowance given by the employer,” he added.
