The intrigues of Junior high school appear far from over since as of now, only 8,367 P1 teachers have shown interest in transiting to JSS either conscious or unconscious of the additional assignment ahead.
According to the Teachers Service Commission, these teachers had to meet the requisite qualifications of a mean grade of C+ and above and the same in the teaching subjects and a Degree or Diploma in High school studies or Two Principals and a Subsidiary at the Advanced Level.
The Teachers Service Commission has raised alarm over teachers who would rather opt for transfers instead of taking up promotion slots at Junior high school. More than 60,000 teachers are qualified for such positions but one would wonder why they turn a deaf ear towards the offer.
An explicit analysis of the Teachers Service Commission’s explanation of the same is that the offer for the shift to Junior high school was indeed a promotion from the lower grade to C2 grade.
According to the teachers, a higher position with more involved roles should have significant monetary gains and not just additional obligations. Most trained P1 teachers who are indeed University graduates and qualified for the positions have surpassed the C2 level and have seen no use to apply for the positions.
Some of the senior teachers interviewed under the condition of anonymity asserted that JSS is bound to plunge into jeopardy because the employer should motivate them by giving a job group higher so that they can accept to take up the roles.
According to TSC, the portal for application for deployment to Junior high School is still vacant and teachers who acquire the necessary qualifications are free to apply and be deployed on a continuous basis.
Currently, there are over 30,365 teachers employed by the commission of whom 21,365 are interns while 9,000 on permanent and pensionable terms. Additionally, we have 8367 P1 teachers giving a total of 38,732 teachers in Junior high School.
Sincerely speaking, one becomes a real teacher after practicing for five years and therefore it would be a wonder if the TSC personnel could only involve freshers and ignore such an important attribute.
In spite of advertising and re-advertising, the Teachers Service Commission has increasingly realized the difficulty in filling these vacancies and Mandera, Garissa, and Wajir have not been exceptional either since applicants have not shown up either.
Teaching is a noble profession and the current trends are really worrying since it depicts a sense of a demotivated workforce, but thanks to the TSC however late, it has started promoting teachers who have stagnated in the same Job group for many years.
The employer has indicated that it requires over 70,430 teachers to adequately staff JSS, so far the deficit is 32,000 but with the advertisement of about 18,000 vacancies, the number will be greatly narrowed.
It’s however important to note that most of the teachers employed as of now are teachers of Arts subjects and therefore more attention has to be focused on sciences and Mathematics.
The JSS learning areas are Mathematics, English, Pre-Tech studies, Integrated Science, Kiswahili, Social Studies, Religion, Agriculture, Health Education, Sports, and Physical Education.
The Kenya National Union Of Teachers Secretary General, Mr.Collins Oyuu has taken issue with the employer, asking the TSC to promote teachers to a higher level especially those who are past the C2 scale because this is an additional duty, “If a teacher will earn the same amount of money and get a heavier workload and teach a more complex content, they would rather remain at the level where they are”
Even as the commission struggles to staff JSS, one other challenge would be engaging befitting administrators who are well versed with the JSS curriculum, how can you engage a secondary school teacher whose curriculum is different or a primary school headteacher who has an interior academic prowess
If the TSC can come up with reasonable terms and conditions of service, it will give a new impetus in the implementation of the JSS curriculum and we shall have an influx of seasoned educators from the primary schools.
BY Our Reporter
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