Thousands of teachers deployed from primary schools to Junior Schools (JS) have intensified their push for recognition as secondary school teachers, declaring their intention to join the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) to secure better representation, career progression and improved working conditions.
The teachers, who have been serving in junior schools under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), say their deployment to secondary school teaching has left them caught between the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and KUPPET, with several employment-related concerns yet to be resolved.
Led by KUPPET National Treasurer Wicks Mwethi Njenga, the teachers on Monday presented membership application forms, insisting that their new professional responsibilities qualify them to belong to the union representing post-primary educators.
Mr Njenga said the teachers had been compelled to remain in KNUT despite their deployment to junior schools, arguing that denying them the opportunity to switch unions amounted to an infringement of their constitutional rights. He cited Article 41 of the Constitution, which guarantees every worker the right to join and participate in the activities of a trade union of their choice.
"Having been deployed from primary to secondary school, these teachers are now secondary school teachers. They have all filled forms to become members of KUPPET, and once the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) system is operational, we will facilitate their migration," he said.
He said the teachers' employment letters identify them as post-primary teachers, with some appointed to the grade of Secondary Teacher II. The union is seeking to have their applications processed once the TSC online system is restored.
Mr Njenga said approximately 9,800 to 10,000 teachers had already migrated from KNUT to KUPPET, but claimed that some had encountered difficulties in having their union membership formally recognised.
The teachers also raised concerns over career progression, transfers, retirement benefits and access to medical support, saying their deployment had not been matched by adequate changes in their employment conditions.
Mr Njenga said the teachers had suffered under a career progression system that, in their view, placed undue emphasis on administrative appointments as a pathway to promotion. He said KUPPET had successfully challenged the framework in court, allowing classroom teachers to advance professionally and earn higher salaries without necessarily becoming deputy principals, principals or heads of departments. Under the proposed arrangement, teachers should be able to rise to higher job grades, including D4, while remaining in classroom teaching.
"This has been a major challenge for these teachers. For them to be promoted, they have been asked whether they can become principals, yet some have never served as deputies or principals," he said.
The teachers said the system had disadvantaged those who joined junior schools with higher academic qualifications but had not been given opportunities to advance. They called for greater autonomy in the management of junior schools, arguing that their responsibilities and qualifications should be recognised independently of the primary school system.
They also want the TSC to review the five-year minimum service requirement for transfers, particularly for teachers deployed to junior schools. Mr Njenga said some teachers had remained at their current stations for more than five years, yet their transfer requests, including those seeking to reunite with their spouses, had been declined.
"We are demanding that the five-year condition be removed for this group of teachers. Some have been in the same stations for even more than five years," he said.
The union further raised concerns over teachers who retired before benefiting from salaries attached to their new qualifications and deployment. Mr Njenga said some had retired while their pension calculations were still based on their previous primary school salaries, despite having been deployed to teach in secondary schools. He called on the TSC to identify the affected teachers and ensure their pension benefits reflect the appropriate salary grades.
On medical challenges, the teachers said KUPPET had established structures at branch level to assist members facing difficulties accessing medical services.
Protus Kanake, the national coordinator of deployed JS teachers, said the group had resolved to join KUPPET after years of what he described as inadequate representation under KNUT. Mr Kanake, who was among the first teachers deployed to JS in 2023, said representatives from counties across the country had met and declared their support for KUPPET.
He said the teachers believed the union was better positioned to address their concerns, particularly career progression, autonomy and recognition.
"We have been in KNUT for many years, but we have been neglected. When we go to primary school activities, we are not given roles. When it comes to games, our primary school counterparts are considered while we are left out," he said.
Mr Kanake said some deployed teachers had retired without benefiting from the opportunities they expected after their deployment, while others were approaching retirement. He dismissed suggestions that the teachers were too young to assume administrative responsibilities, saying some had previously headed private schools before joining the TSC.
"We want the commission to listen to us and give us autonomy as early as now," he said.
Njuguna Wanyoike, a teacher at Muguga Junior School and a representative of deployed teachers in Kiambu County, said the group was seeking reforms that would allow teachers to work and progress according to their qualifications and subject combinations. He said teachers handling Pre-Technical Studies and Creative Arts had also been affected by the challenges surrounding transfers and career progression, and called for transfers to be facilitated through subject combination matching.
The declaration comes ahead of KUPPET elections scheduled for Saturday, November 7, with the deployed teachers saying they intend to participate. Mr Njenga said teachers whose membership had been confirmed through their application forms and TSC payroll records would be eligible to vote.
Maureen Makena, an aspirant for the junior school secretary position in Kiambu County, urged the teachers to turn out in large numbers and support candidates committed to addressing their concerns. She said KUPPET would work to ensure the issues raised by the deployed teachers were addressed through the union's national and county structures.
The teachers said their decision to join KUPPET was not merely about union membership but also a demand for recognition, professional independence and improved working conditions within the junior school system.
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