Non-teaching staff in public secondary schools in the country through their union, Kenya Union of Secondary Schools Non-Teaching Staff (KUSSNTS) is now seeking the intervention of President William Ruto to ease the challenges they are facing in the hands of school heads and Boards of Management (BoMs).
The staff who are also referred to as support staff noted that the President should instruct the Ministry of Education to fully adhere to the provisions of contained in the Basic Education Act 2013 and the accompanying regulations of 2015 while dealing with support staff in public secondary schools.
Speaking to Education News today, KUSSNTS Secretary General Nahashon Ndiemae maintained that the outright refusal by the ministry to ensure adherence to the set laws and regulations despite numerous letters from the union is the root cause of the problems facing support staff.
He added that the mistreatment and mismanagement of the staff who play a vital role in the education has reached a level where the same can no longer be tolerated.
“Your Excellency, why is your government allowing indirect slavery and servitude in schools? Workers who voluntarily join their union in compliance to the Labour relations Act are being threatened, intimidated and victimized. In some cases, some are forced to write withdrawal letters as a guarantee to retain their employment,” decried Ndiemae.
The Union boss revealed that the union has filed several cases touching on NTS at the Employmnet and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) a clear indication that support staff are suffering in schools, with Ndiemae decrying that most schools have refused to obey union’s dues deductions vide gazette order no. 158 of 2021.
“More than 100 schools are facing court action for failing to adhere to the gazette notice on union effecting union dues with more than 50 other secondary schools equally facing court action for refusing to sign recognition Agreement as well as the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in compliance to the Labour Relations Act.” He said
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“Why are school administrators misusing scarce school resources hiring defense lawyers instead of simply obeying the Law? In addition to the cases at the labour and employment court, we will sue the administrators individually under chapter 6 of the constitution. They are unfit to hold public office,” he added
Ndiemae further emphasized that school administrators are practicing open discrimination to support staff and the union in general, something they won’t accept, revealing that the union will equally be in schools conducting elections for works committees in line with the labour relations Act as from January 2026.
According to him, the NTS are being exposed to unfair labour practices by contravening their contracts of employment like working for more than 8 hours without overtime pay, to do multiple jobs, work throughout including weekends, work in unsafe, unhealthy conditions without safety equipment, denied leave and with stagnant salaries despite the current rate of inflation in the country among other challenges.
He pointed out that the Basic Education Act 2013 together with Basic Education Regulations 2015 clearly stated that persons belonging to a professional cadre and employed by the BoM shall be employed on such terms and conditions of service similar to those recommended for equivalent posts in the Civil Service, and as per the applicable scheme of service.
“The schools boards of management had unlawfully replaced this requirement with employment and remuneration based on ‘the school’s ability to pay.’ This is unacceptable impunity. Even the recommendations of the Kilemi Mwiria report on education reforms of 2014 which went further to recommend staffing of schools and proposed remuneration is equally ignored,” said Ndiemae.
He also raised issues with stagnation of NTS begging the question how the employees are left to serve for years in the same grade, a move that has affected the working morale of the staff, adding that workers must be allowed to proceed to the next grade at least after every 3 years with annual increment as recommended for in the circulars issued from time to time by SRC should always apply.
On occupational health safety, the union observed that workers were being exposed to unsafe working conditions eventually leading to serious health complications.
“In school laboratories, for example, the laboratory offices meant for the laboratory technicians had been taken over by teachers, leaving the workers to stay in harmful, toxic filled preparation rooms terming this completely unacceptable and a health hazard, calling for interventions from the public health officers.” He stated
The union has also termed the redundancy and lying off of thousands of workers that was carried out since January 2025 without adherence to any law as futile lawlessness since the same they will be moving to the ELRCs across the country to reverse the decisions.
By Roy Hezron
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