By Norah Musega
Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Collins Oyuu has maintained that Teacher Professional Development (TPD) is not a new thing and that it is fully captured both in Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Act of 2012 and in the Code of Regulations for Teachers (CORT) 2015.
Addressing the press at Awendo East Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church most recently, Oyuu stated that when the CORT came into operation in July 2015 he was not even the Secretary General of KNUT.
“TPD is neither an issue of yesterday nor that of last year. This is an issue that has been running from 2012 through an act of parliament. Go to the TSC Act, which is a legal document, Section 35 talks about TPD. Look about the Code of Regulations that was taken before the sub-committee on legislation in parliament; it also went through the education committee in parliament that is 2015. This document started operating fully in July 2015, none of us was Secretary General; I was not there as the Secretary General,” stated Oyuu.
“Let us look this thing with a bit of fairness, so that we actually bring accusations where they are actually due. You do not just wake up and start accusing everybody. They say I signed TPD, what do you sign in TPD? Which part of the TPD should be signed by the Secretary General? I think I shall not sit back and entertain this kind of nonsense, we must say the truth to our members. Why must I hide for popularity? I am not a populist,” he added.
Oyuu however challenged teachers to shun from addressing their issues through the media but to follow the laid down procedures in seeking solutions for their challenges, and acknowledge the elected KNUT officials to reach out to the TSC for an amicable solution to their challenges.
His sentiments comes amid concerns raised by teachers over transfer of members which he said that his office is not aware of any unfair teacher transfer officially which he termed as rumors peddled through different media outlets.
While responding to the concerns raised by other leaders on whether boarding schools should be faced out in bid to curb fire infernos in schools, Oyuu noted that the move might not give a long-lasting solution to the problem.
He insisted that there was need for the Ministry of Education to give a hearing to both teachers and the parents and especially through the unions, blaming indiscipline among learners and 100 per cent transitions from primary to secondary education for having played a role in causing school fires and unrests.
“We must accept that indiscipline among students is on the rise and 100 per cent transition has brought children of bad character to schools and parents are to blame if they cannot not telsl the truth to teachers about the character of their children to teachers during admission and instead defend them even when they are called to school on indiscipline cases,” he said.
He cited teacher to students ratio as another reason that might have also contributed to the same saying the number of teachers employed in schools to handle the students despite the 100 per cent transition limits the impact of teachers saying that teachers are forced to strain in order to even teach the big number of students and pupils in schools.
