The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has decried the manner in which employment letters for teachers are being distributed in public gatherings by Members Parliament (MPs).
Speaking to Education News in his office yesterday, the Union Deputy Secretary General Moses Nthurima who is also the acting Secretary General stated that the employment policy set by the country’s teacher employer, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) should strictly be followed where those who graduated earlier are considered for employment.
WATCH:
Nthurima observed that it is wrong for employment letters for teacher to be given to MPs since they are not the hiring authority adding that the habit should immediately be stopped since it will create a lot of bitterness in the teaching service.
“Since the coming in of Kenya Kwanza government, the management of education has been grossly interfered with by the political class. It has become a habit that when about 5000 teachers are being employed for instance, three quarters of the employment is taken by the executive to be shared by among the members of parliament. As a union we have really complained about this because the policy is that whoever completed college first should be considered for employment,” said Nthurima.
“But now as things stand where MPs are being given these forms with some not even having anybody to give and end up selling them and those who have somebody to give only give it to relatives and close friends, that one is very unfortunate to the education sector because it will create bitterness within the teaching society. That one is a terrible unfair discrimination within the teaching force,” he added.
ALSO READ:
Teachers face tough times as TSC cedes hiring powers to politicians
At the same time raised concern in the manner in which the 19,000 promotional positions were shared equally among counties noting that needs for every county varies with other county with some counties having the highest number of teachers who have stagnated in one job group for long.
“Recently they interfered with the promotions where the 19000 slots were shared equally among the counties. Counties don’t have equal number of teachers; in fact the counties with high number of teachers have those teachers who have stagnated in one job group for long compared with those counties with few numbers of teachers. You cannot equalize counties in terms of promotion because the number of teachers is different,” stated Nthurima.
Nthurima has now asked the government to leave merit take charge in education sector where teachers are hired following the stipulated rules and policies where the positions are advertised, successful candidates are shortlisted for interviews then picked for employment.
By Hezron Roy
You can also follow our social media pages on Twitter: Education News KE and Facebook: Education News Newspaper for timely updates.
>>> Click here to stay up-to-date with trending regional stories
>>> Click here to read more informed opinions on the country’s education landscape
