Teachers oppose use of learners to monitor their performance

Incoming Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) officials in Makueni County have opposed a bid by the government to use learners to monitor the performance of teachers.

Mr Benson Ndambuki, the Knut Makueni branch Executive Secretary, Mr Christopher Kilonzo, who retained his Knut Kibwezi branch chairman and Ms Winfred Masai, the incoming Knut Nzaui branch Women Representative said that they will lead teachers into opposing the signing of performance contracts.

“We are opposed to the signing of performance appraisals until the government does away with a clause requiring that pupils would monitor teachers on their class attendance and performance,” Mr Ndambuki said in Wote town during a ceremony to welcome the officials into office.

“Use of pupils to monitor the behaviour of teachers is in bad faith,” said Mr Kilonzo, adding: “Such a move will badly affect how teachers relate with learners.”

According to the trade unionists, the use of learners to tell on absentee teachers and those who report to class late is a ploy to embarrass teachers.

Further, Ms Masai termed as subjective the use of pupils’ comments to measure the performance of teachers.

“Obviously, pupils would comment negatively on teachers who they dislike and this makes this performance monitoring tool subjective,” she said.

However, Makueni county TSC director Mr Johnson Nyakina defended the use of learners to monitor teachers saying that it is a sure way of tracking the teachers’ performance.

“We want the learner to also have a say on how teachers behave while in the classroom,” Mr Nyakina a told Nation one phone explaining that pupils are better placed to play this role, since unlike school heads, they are always present in schools.

According to Mr Nyakina, use of learners to gather information on teacher attendance and performance is not intended to punish teachers.

Instead, he said, such attendance and performance monitoring assists the school administration to understand lessons that could be missing out due to absentee teachers to inform an appropriate intervention.

“While in school, learners pay full school fees and, being the consumers of education, they should have a say on the quality of service they are getting,” Mr Nyasani said.