By Roy Hezron Roy
The recently launched refresher course for practicing teachers launched by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) recently is threatening to tear apart leadership representing tutors in the country, Education News has authoritatively established.
The opposition to the newly introduced programme has become more pronounced within the branches of the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) who have raised concerns over what they consider punitive requirements to the teacher as contained in the Teachers Professional Development (TPD) programme.
Over 27 branches have written letters to the union Secretary-General, Akelo Misori to state that they do not approve the intended capacity building and retraining of teachers programme in its current form and want the top union leaders to demand for further consultations on the matter before its implementation.
In a letter dated September 24, 2021 addressed to KUPPET Secretary General Akello Misori and seen by Education News, Migori branch Executive Secretary Orwa Jasolo dismissed the programme saying it was the responsibility of the employer to bear all costs involved in the in-service training.
“Whereas teachers agree that TPD is a form of Employee Professional Development meant to address gaps identified by the employer normally through research, it must be emphasized that it is the responsibility of the employer to plan for such training or capacity building programmes, identify cost implications and budget as per the projected cost to train her employees including paying for the training units/modules, accommodation, transport, meals and strenuous allowances. Moreover, the modules offered too, should contain both specific and transferable skills that other employers recognize,” Said Jasolo in the hard-hitting letter.
According to him, the position of Migori teachers is that the union national leaders had neglected, ignored and misrepresented the views of teachers on the matter and proceeded against the interests of its members to endorse the training.
“No form of training can be compulsory for all employees including those about to retire,” noted Jasolo in the letter.
Jasolo stated that a training programme that runs throughout the entire working life time of an employee (in this case 30 years) is totally undesirable and should be rejected.
He also wondered why only four universities were listed to train over 300,000 teachers yet there were other like-minded institutions across the country that could also conduct the exercise.
“Why would teachers not train at home? Every county has a public university. Isn’t it funny that in this era of Covid-19, someone is organizing to have over 300,000 teachers congregate in only 4 universities?” asked Jasolo in the letter.
His sentiments were echoed by KUPPET Taita Taveta Branch Executive Secretary Shedrack Mutungi who also wrote to the union’s Secretary General rejecting the roll out of TPD.
“This is to inform you and the National leadership of KUPPET that, teachers employed by TSC working in Taita Taveta County have totally rejected Teachers Professional Development (TPD) training,” noted Mutungi in the letter.
He added that the opinion of teachers in Taita Taveta County is that it is unconstitutional to force teachers to go back to colleges and retrain, yet the programme didn’t go through a public participation process as enshrined in the 2010 constitution.
He said that it’s not possible for all teachers to be found unfit to offer teaching services and that a refresher course which will compel an employee to be a student entirely in his/her working life time is outdated and unpalatable.
“This training is not an emergency and therefore the employer must withdraw it and hold consultative meetings with relevant stakeholders on the best options to roll it out if at all it is of any importance. The employer must take care of the total cost for the entire 30 years of the programne for every individual teacher,” said Mutungi.
Regarding the issue of completing TPD modules as a mode for promotion of teachers, Mutungi stated that teachers of Taita Taveta are of the opinion that even if promotions were to be pegged on TPD modules, it is not possible for over 300,000 teachers in the TSC payroll to be promoted immediately after completing one module.
“The current economic constraints hassled to freezing of salary increments for all government employees. It is therefore immoral to ask teachers to use their little salaries to finance programmes which may never be beneficial,” said Mutungi in the letter.
Addressing a press conference in Mbale town, Vihiga KUPPET Executive Secretary, Sabala Inyeni described the roll out as scandalous, misinformed and malicious. He also questioned the criteria used to choose the four universities accredited to offer the TPD programmes.
‘The DCI and EACC should investigate the happenings at TSC. We are issuing an ultimatum to the KUPPET national office to release a press statement over this issue failure to which we will converge in Nairobi and reprimand them,’ Inyeni said.
Speaking to Education News, KUPPET Kisii branch Executive Secretary Joseph Abincha accused TSC CEO Nancy Macharia of intimidating teachers and cautioned the ministry against sabotaging teachers’ rights.
“Some teachers have not finished paying their HELB loans. How will they pay for these refresher courses from their meager salaries?’ questioned Abincha.
So far 27 KUPPET branches including Laikipia, Baringo, Trans Nzoia, Kwale, Tana River, Makueni, Busia, West Pokot, Nyandarua, Isiolo and Wajir among others have protested against the roll out of TPD.
These concerns come after TSC, the officials of three teachers union : Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), KUPPET and Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET), among other education stakeholders on September 22, 2021 rolled out the Teacher Professional Development (TPD) programme at Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA) Karen. The roll out will require teachers to renew their practicing certificates every five years after completing a given number of modules.
The programme will cost them about 186,000 for 31 years to complete all the levels and modules.
Reacting to these concerns, KUPPET Deputy Secretary General Moses Nthurima said the union is aware of protests from branches and that it had written to TSC to request for suspension of the programme pending further consultations.
He dismissed allegations that KUPPET had signed the TPD documents saying that they were merely witnesses during the handing over of contract documents to the appointed trainers and had no role in the partnerships.
“We have taken note of the issues raised by our branches and we are doing our best to address them. We are waiting for feedback from the Commission regarding our communication. We are particularly interested in the requirement that teachers meet the cost of training. We feel the employer has a responsibility to shoulder that burden,’ Nthurima said.
