Schools open as JSS teachers stay away from class
Schools open as JSS teachers stay away from class
Schools open as JSS teachers stay away from class
On a day when junior secondary teachers staged protests in several towns against the Teachers Service Commission’s reluctance to hire them on a permanent basis, schools reopened across the nation.
A portion of the intern teachers in Nairobi held protests at the offices of the commission.
The head of Nairobi County’s intern teachers, Owino Okello, declared that his group will not back down from a strike in the face of intimidation.
He referenced a decision from the Employment and Labour Relations Court that, although granting the TSC a grace period to comply, invalidated the internship status for trained, registered, and licensed instructors.
“We will obey the court’s ruling by staying away from schools in light of the Employment and Labour Relations Court’s ruling and the subsequent nullification of internship for trained, registered, and licensed teachers,” Okello declared.
The requests of the intern teachers include salary parity with their permanent status counterparts as well as pension benefits for the duration of their employment.
Additionally, they want their contracts to be improved and changed to include pensionable and permanent periods.
In his decision, Judge Byrum Ongaya granted TSC a three-month grace period during which it may either request higher court intervention or hire all of the impacted instructors on a permanent, pensionable basis.
TSC has not yet acted upon their demands or acknowledged their involvement in strike action.
The majority of schools in Nairobi County have reopened, and student enrollment was gradually increasing, according to a spot-check conducted by The Standard.
Johnson Nzioka, the head of Donholm Primary School, reported that the school had an 85% return rate.
“We expect all learners to be back in school by next week,” Nzioka stated, adding that “so far the progress is good.”
The instructors in Nakuru pledged that they would not go back to class until their demands were satisfied. They protested along Kenyatta Avenue, demanding that the government grant internship participants permanent positions with pensions.
The teachers’ chairperson, Stanley Metobo, stated they had downed their tools. “We have laid down our tools. We are not going back to school due to the government’s failure to take junior secondary school matters seriously,” Metobo said.
Metobo expressed his disappointment, calling on the government to honour its pledge by taking care of the welfare of the teachers.
Fazul Mwangi called on the government to obey court orders, indicating that the internship was against the law.
“Those who are not privileged are inconvenienced by nepotism and discrimination, which has been encouraged by MPs who distribute employment letters,” Mwangi continued.
He pointed out that because of the high cost of living, their Sh17,000 salary was insufficient to meet their demands.
Even though they used resources to earn their degrees, Cecilia Wangechi stated that the government had abused and failed them.
“Our government has let us down. We are trained, certified, and licensed teachers who should be respected, even though they dubbed us painters and cleaners,” the woman remarked.
Dozens of JSS teachers protested in the streets of Taita Taveta County, demanding better terms of service, instead of reporting back to their schools.
The teachers numbering about 400 caused traffic jams and disrupted businesses in Mwatate town, the county’s Teachers Service Commission headquarters.
Led by their interim officials, secretary general Luke Wambua, organising secretary Mr Reubin Iligha and treasurer Peninah Nyambu, the teachers demanded, among other things, confirmation to permanent and pensionable terms.
At the same time, the teachers insisted on immediate compensation of JSS intern teachers who have been underpaid.
“We will not report back to work until the government fully addresses our concerns. We will be staying at home, and we shall be protesting every Monday to press the government to address our concerns,” said Wambua.
“The Sh17,000 pay is too low for graduate teachers,” Wambua noted
On the other hand, Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) Taita Taveta branch officials demanded the immediate confirmation of 46,000 JSS intern teachers on permanent and pensionable terms.
“JSS teachers should have the same job security and benefits as other commission-employed teachers,” they declared.
In order to close the teacher shortfall in junior secondary schools (JSS), Kuppet officials have encouraged the TSC to hire more instructors.
“Kuppet requests that the leaders of the organizations in charge of JSS stop victimizing and intimidating JSS instructors in any way. In a petition, they said, “We also support an environment that is courteous and encouraging for all educators.”
JSS teachers pledged to boycott classes until their demands were met and staged protests in the counties of Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Muranga, Meru, and Embu.
JSS chair Josephat Kariuki in Kirinyaga recommended the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to look into the Teachers Service Commission’s employment placement practices.
“The reason why teachers who graduated between 2012 and 2022 are still unemployed while a teacher from last year has a permanent job is something that the EACC should look into,” Kariuki stated.
Lewis Kithinji, Secretary-General of the Meru JSS, Karuti Lubarua, Chairman, and Winnie Kawira, Organising Secretary.
When schools eventually reopen, the tutors promised they would not return unless the government accepted their terms by paying them and employing them on a permanent and pensionable basis.
“We have to get your confirmation or we won’t be returning to school,” Kithinji declared.
Purity Wangechi, the chairwoman of JSS in Nyeri, stated that the 700 teachers will not return to work until TSC satisfies their requests. She declared, “We are informing the government that we will no longer accept that Sh17,000 monthly salary.”
Francis Wanjohi, the executive secretary of Kuppet Nyeri, stated that TSC is required to follow the court’s order incorporating JSS teachers into permanent positions with pensions.
“We at Kuppet are supporting these educators because we believe they should be fairly compensated for the excellent work they do,” Wanjohi stated.
Additionally, Kuppet Secretary-General Sabala Inyeni informed TSC that it was their responsibility to verify the teachers in Vihiga County.
“Until their demands are met, no teacher in the JSS class will report back to school,” stated Sabala.
Johnston Wabuti, the chairman of the Kuppet branch in Kakamega County, urged the TSC to follow the court’s decision and to provide employment letters to intern teachers.
Over 2.5 million students nationwide may potentially face learning difficulties as a result of the walkout.
