JSS tutors agree to call off strike

JSS tutors agree to call off strike

JSS tutors agree to call off strike

Junior secondary school teachers (JSS) have decided to return to work on Monday following a three-week strike.

This comes after JSS and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) leadership signed a return to work agreement in Nairobi yesterday.

Akelo Misori, the secretary general of KUPPET, declared that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will no longer be issuing show-cause letters to teachers who have absconded from their duties.

“The letters were sent out even after the National Assembly Committee on Education intervened to advocate for additional funding to break the deadlock,” Misori stated.

The government’s refusal to offer permanent employment to the 46,000 JSS instructors has sparked protests among them.

He said, “The union and the commission have agreed that by June 3rd, all show-cause letters and notices to exit that were previously issued to the teachers will be withdrawn and normalcy returned to JSS institutions.”

The three-hour discussion resulted in the agreement that all teachers will be hired by the employer on a permanent and pensionable basis by July 1st, rather than January of the following year.

The government had set aside Sh8.3 billion to employ 26,000 intern teachers by January 2025.

Another Sh4.5 billion had been allocated to the hiring of 20,000 intern teachers.

However, KUPPET requests in the new agreement that TSC use the funds to change all 46,000 JSS instructors’ status to permanent rather than hiring more interns.

Misori stated that dialogues can be used to address issues facing the education industry.

We desired JSS to be located in the secondary area for this reason. The primary schools are overstretched, but the senior institutions have adequate resources,” he stated.

He said the union had provided strong support for their hiring on permanent and pensionable terms.

“JSS forms the backbone of the education sector, setting the foundation for success in the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum. We have given a deaf ear to the teachers even after they raised their issues on the streets,” Misori said.

The teachers’ petition stems from a ruling rendered last month by the Employment and Labour Relations Court that criticized their contract hiring.

The teachers could only be hired by TSC on a permanent and pensionable basis, the court had said.

KUPPETS states that they are prepared to collaborate with the National Treasury and other government agencies to find a legal solution to this problem, according to Misori.

The Junior Secondary Teachers Association’s Assistant Organising Secretary, Murunga Muliro, urged educators to go back to the classroom on Monday.

“A number of issues have been resolved in agreement with the union, and we are here to declare the conclusion of the three-week strike,” he declared.