The contentious issue of remuneration for Curriculum Support Officers (CSOs) remains unresolved as the national workshop enters its last day in Naivasha today.
Nonetheless, there were a few crucial takeaways from the main speaker of the day Gabriel Mathenge, who is the Director of Operations based at the TSC headquarters.
The CSOs were highly commended for their splendid role in the commission’s decentralized functions. In a vivid description of their importance in collection and timely dissemination of crucial data for the consumption of elevated field officers and head office, Mathenge described the CSOs as the driving force behind the commission’s success in achieving its mission statement.
That lay the background for a matter that occupies the minds of majority, if not all, CSOs. The director promised them a review of their Career Progression Guidelines (CPG), apparently as a reward for their hard work, so as to become more accommodative and to motivate them.
The CPG has been a perpetual bone of contention for the CSOs as it has placed them on a precarious scale, neither belonging to the mainstream secretariat nor being part of the teaching band of the TSC employees.
As such, they do not get the better perks negotiated by teacher unions on behalf of teachers, and they are not considered as secretariat staff who have their own CPG.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, the CSOs are left to their own devices as they are not represented in any salary negotiations. As a result, they earn less than the teachers they supervise and less than their secretariat colleagues numbering about 4,000.
The CSOs have taken great pains to bring to the attention of the country their suffering, at one point in February last year presenting a memorandum to Parliamentary Select Committee on Education. They tabled evidences of their claims of discrimination from their employer TSC, details of which are contained in the story carried by Education News in this link:
Therefore, the promise of a CPG review was sweet music to their ears, though little has happened in the past.
Mathenge also reminded them that they now belong to the Directorate of Operations that he heads, which might add weight to his pronouncement.
Other keynote speakers were Antonina Lentoijoni (Director Staffing) and Dr Isack Batoya (Directorate of Research and Policy).
Lentoijoni brought to the attention of the CSOs a plan to expedite the facilitation of entry and exit of teachers by giving the CSOs right to initiate them. She said this will fast track the backlog currently affecting the commission’s operations.
Teachers seeking transfers have sometimes been travelling to TSC headquarters to inquire on belated transfer requests. This, according to Lentoijoni, will be resolved by empowering CSOs to get involved in the process.
Dr Batoya clarified that most of the teachers failed in the just concluded promotions because some applied for the wrong promotions. Teachers were advised to be keen when making applications and avoid trusting cyber operators to do the work for them.
As the workshop ends today, next in line for the engagement are the Sub-county Directors, who will also enter a 3-day retreat.
YOU MAY ALSO READ:
By our reporter
To write to us or offer feedback, you can reach us at: editor@educationnews.co.ke
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
