Some JSS teachers compelled to teach at primary schools
Some JSS teachers compelled to teach at primary schools
Some recently hired Junior Secondary School (JSS) instructors have been forced to instruct classes in elementary school by their station heads. At the Siaya County KUPPET Branch Annual General Meeting on Saturday, Sam Opondo, the Siaya County Executive Secretary of the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), provided this information. Opondo claimed that making JSS instructors teach in primary schools goes against the duties of their positions.
The heads of these institutions and the JSS teachers frequently have a tense relationship, according to observations made by KUPPET. This conflict has been linked to non-graduate head teachers’ perceived inferiority complex.
Most of the newly hired JSS teachers are graduates who would have been assigned to teach secondary schools if the 8-4-4 curriculum had been in place. An anonymous JSS teacher who attended the AGM expressed their dissatisfaction and their suspicion that P1-qualified head teachers had an inferiority problem.
Opondo advised the heads of institutions to set an example of professionalism, administrative calm, and order while stressing the value of decorum and professionalism among JSS coworkers.Opondo explained to the heads that JSS instructors should not be viewed as “packages of trouble” but rather as educators who require assistance in order to provide their services in an efficient manner. The Pre-Primary, Primary, and Junior School Heads Working Party on Education Reforms has recommended that they be graduates.
Opondo added that teachers are currently overworked in junior schools, teaching more than ten courses a day. Given the difficulties JSS teachers already have, forcing them to teach more courses in primary school is viewed as a breach of their rights.