Every year, World Teachers’ Day creates an opportunity to appreciate, celebrate and strengthen teachers’ profession on October 5. The National Executive Council (NEC) of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) takes this foremost opportunity to celebrate the teachers of Kenya for their selfless dedication and commitment to driving the education agenda in the country.
The journey of transforming education begins with valuing teachers, respecting them and ensuring that they are central to decision-making processes in the sector.
On October 5, 2024, KNUT hosts the 2024 World Teachers’ Day at Kunste Hotel Nakuru, to be graced by Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Julius Migos Ogamba.
The theme, as coined by the Secretary General of UNESCO, “Valuing Teacher Voices: Towards a New Social Contract for Education”, underscores the urgency of engaging with teachers to address the challenges faced in education, but, most importantly, to acknowledge and benefit from the expert knowledge and input teachers bring to the sector.
It is important to point out that the Education International’s 10th World Conference held in Beunos Aires, Argentina, strongly recommended urgent government action to end global teacher shortage and ensure teachers are valued and respected through giving descent pay for the work they do, and ensure good working conditions and job security.
The conference also recommended that governments should ensure quality initial teachers’ training and continuous professional development and respect for professional autonomy.
The Kenyan teachers have played their role in supporting the world education agenda by fighting for better education today and for posterity. Away from KNUT fighting to have the formation of one employer – the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) – in 1967, and securing a Recognition Agreement and therefore curing the crippling discrimination of teachers, the union has, through the years, been able to secure, protect and promote various rights and privileges within the profession.
Better work environment
There are various gains meant to improve teachers’ work environment. For instance, several benefits such as improved salaries and several allowances, such as house allowance, medical allowance, commuter allowance, hardship allowance, special needs allowance and special needs assistance allowance, were introduced gradually, thus making the profession attractive and decent.
Teachers have continued to fight for more gains through the collective bargaining framework such as enhanced maternity leaves, paternity leaves, sick leaves, study leaves and leave of absence, including secondment to serve in other public institutions and still have a chance to revert to the commission and serve at will.
The fight for a better teacher is far from over. Unions are working round the clock through representation, negotiation and advocacy, information sharing and legal advice, to make the sector more attractive and reliable for the present and future generations.
To secure the future of the teaching profession in Kenya, teachers, through KNUT, fought very hard to ensure their employer is made a constitutional commission under the 2010 constitution. With this foundational grounding, KNUT has participated adequately in the education reforms agenda, the last one being the curriculum review towards the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
Curriculum change
KNUT conducted two research projects – the Teacher Preparedness in the Implementation of CBC, 2018, and Summative Evaluation on CBC Implementation, 2019.
Recommendations to these two research projects later became dependable authorities in the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) 2023 that led to domiciling Junior School (JS) in primary schools under the comprehensive school system, and proposed employment of more teachers to facilitate teaching and learning in the changed curriculum.
Additionally, the findings from the research revealed that the sector had a teacher shortage of over 100,000. This led to the government’s commitment to employ a record highest number of teachers ever – 56,000 – within a year. Additionally, KNUT maintains that the 46,000 teachers initially on internship should be employed on permanent and pensionable terms unconditionally.
Education funding
KNUT, in collaboration with Education International and other sector unions, ran a campaign in 2023 dubbed ‘Go Public, Fund Education’. The campaign revealed that the government had not been keen in providing affordable, accessible and quality education, especially in non-formal settlements of urban and peri-urban areas, contrary to the World Agenda 4 on Education.
This campaign called on the government to consider education a public good anchored in the 2010 Constitution as a basic and fundamental right.
Kenya has done well in response to the campaign by increasing funding to the education sector through improved capitation. The enhanced funding to the education sector has led to improved education infrastructure, supply of teaching and learning materials, provision of medical care to learners through EduAfya, and provision of food to improve nutrition and therefore accelerate uptake, retention, transition and school completion rates by learners.
Although disbursement of capitation is still a challenge, KNUT looks forward to further commitments from government through collaborations and consultations.
Teacher compensation
KNUT has and continues to agitate for better terms and conditions of service for teachers through the collective bargaining agreement framework, the latest one being the standoff in implementation of the second and last phase of the salary award within the 2021-2025 CBA cycle.
The union has equally commenced negotiations for the next CBA Cycle 2025/2029. It is expected that through robust engagements, the coming CBA will serve teachers better than those we have had before.
Other areas where teacher’ voices have been heard include championing for inclusive education, vouching for quality training, tooling and re-tooling for quality teaching, advocating for a credible examinations system, and use of technology and digital learning platforms to impart education in the face of the changing global trends without losing a teacher in the classroom.
Internally, the union has enhanced trainings for all elected leaders. The trainings, which include building the capacities of NEC members, Executive Secretaries, branch chairmen and treasurers, BEC members, and school KNUT representatives, are meant to equip them with modern skills of trade union leadership. Henceforth, teachers’ labour matters are addressed professionally and to satisfaction.
Health and safety
Teachers’ voices have gone further to conversations around environmental conservation. In addressing climate change and its effects, KNUT has collaborated with the Ministry of Forestry and Environment and other stakeholders such as “the Mama Doing Good Foundation”, under the leadership of First Lady Rachael Ruto, to improve the ground cover by planting 15 billion trees by 2032.
This initiative, away from improving the environment, is also meant to actively develop interventions to ensure every child, regardless of gender, socio-economic background, or geographic location, enjoys the right to a quality life. So far, KNUT, through its structures, has planted over 10,000 trees.
Teachers’ voice has also been projected towards ensuring safe working environments for everyone. KNUT leadership has been vocal on teacher safety in the insecure areas of the country such as parts of Wajir, Mandera, Elgeyo Marakwet, Lamu and Samburu counties. The union has called upon the government to ensure teachers in all schools in the country are safe. The safety of teachers and learners will facilitate teaching and learning across the country.
Additionally, KNUT, through its Gender Desk, has a campaign called School Based Gender Violence (SGBV). The initiative is meant to address systemic challenges based on gender that affect work performance. The initiative is also working on providing equity and equality among the two genders.
All these gains have been realized because KNUT is a strong, well structured, organized and result-oriented institution. This year’s World Teachers’ Day is therefore a dedication to the commitment of teacher voices towards changing the world for the better.
Kenya should therefore stand up for teachers for these great strides in the education sector.
Welcome and let us celebrate together!
Happy World Teachers’ Day 2024!
Thank you.
Collins Oyuu
Secretary General – KNUT-KE
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