In 2023, the Ministry of Education decided to domicile junior schools within existing primary schools. This decision, which followed extensive stakeholder consultations and documented in the Presidential Working Report on Education and Reforms, was a key step towards addressing the challenges Junior Secondary School (JSS) faced.
The decision was influenced by factors such as learners’ age and the cost of education, as highlighted by the Professor Raphael Munavu led Commission.
Based on the syllabus content of the JSS, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) gave the qualifications for one to handle the new arrangement in the learning sector.
This led to massive recruitment and deployment of qualified teachers in the primary to the junior school section. The Commission has recruited many teachers on permanent and internship terms to implement a Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in JSS nationwide.
Since the beginning of Grade 7 in 2023, the relationship between the JSS teachers and their supervisors has been sour. Education News is replete with incidences of confrontation pitying head teachers and the teachers of the seven regions of our country.
A sad scenario was witnessed in the Nyanza region at the end of last year. A head teacher chasing a JJS teacher from an ongoing staff meeting trended on social media for many days.
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Disgruntled teachers continue to report instances of JSS teachers being denied the opportunity to accompany their students to games or tours. They claim that some head teachers end up bequeathing some of their responsibilities to their colleagues in the primary section. The teachers interviewed further said the level of demotivation remains high among them.
The latest confrontation between the headteachers and the JSS teachers rocked social media a week ago. The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Makueni branch requested TSC to reign on a head teacher who had decided to intimidate JSS teachers. The headteacher is reported to have stripped off responsibilities from the concerned teacher.
The above incidences are just the tip of the iceberg. The magnitude of the strained relationship between primary school head teachers and JSS teachers is high. The stakeholders, led by management boards, urge the TSC to act swiftly and quell the conflict.
They argue that the continued negative relationship affects not only the teachers but also the students’ learning. The Commission should invigorate the Teachers Induction, Mentorship, and Coaching (TIMEC) programme to bolster strained relationships and ensure a conducive learning environment for the students.
By Kaptich Tarus
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