KUPPET & TSC agree on promotion of 30,000 teachers

KUPPET & TSC agree on promotion of 30,000 teachers

KUPPET & TSC agree on promotion of 30,000 teachers

An agreement has been reached by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) to promote more than 30,000 teachers who had been inactive for more than seven years.

To address the teacher shortage in Junior Secondary Schools (JSS), TSC will also hire 20,000 new teachers in a joint initiative that will cost the exchequer more than Sh7.8 billion.

This came to light following a six-day meeting at Sawela Lodge in Naivasha between Kuppet and the commission.

Remarkably, at a Kuppet National Executive Committee media briefing, senior TSC officials were noticeably absent.

In the upcoming fiscal year, 30,000 of the 50,000 teachers who had been at a standstill for years would receive promotions, according to Kuppet National Chairman Milemba Omboko.

Omboko noted that since 2017, the majority of teachers had not been promoted and the Naivasha meeting had resolved to address the matter with effect from June.

He said that Sh4 billion would be required to recruit 20,000 teachers to address the crisis in JSS across the country.

Flanked by the top union officials, Omboko said that the government had promised to re-look the teachers medical cover.

“The government will look at the implementation of new Group Life Cover, Group Personal Accident Cover and Work Injury Benefits insurance for teachers as part of the medical scheme,” he said.

2,000 of the 20,000 teachers hired by JSS, according to Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori, would be assigned to Asal regions.

He disclosed that TSC had reached a decision to convert all 26,000 intern teachers hired in 2023 to permanent and pensionable positions by January 2025.

“The union’s demand to review the Career Progression Guidelines—which have contributed to teachers’ stagnation—and develop new career guidelines through public participation has been granted by TSC,” he said.

Misori announced that the union was satisfied by the recent promotion of over 50,000 teachers after an audit indicated that only 14 cases had issues.

“The commission has addressed our concerns about the promotion of teachers not in the payroll and explained the remedy for 14 teachers who earned the promotion while not being in the payroll,” he said.

He voiced concerns about the inadequate staffing of schools, specifically at JSS, where there are currently only two teachers per stream managing all subject areas.

“The Commission is proposing to allocate Sh1 billion towards the advancement of 30,000 educators who have experienced prolonged stagnation,” he declared.

Misori stated that TSC was collaborating with the Department of Pensions on administrative measures to expedite the delayed teacher pension process.