Headteachers back unions merger plan

Secondary school principals have supported plans to merge the two main teachers’ unions.

The planned merger would help the two unions have a stronger voice in airing members’ grievances, Kenya Secondary School Heads Association chairman John Awiti told the Nation in a telephone interview.

Mr Awiti welcomed the merger proposal between the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Teachers (Kuppet).

“The welfare of teachers will be taken care of better than it is the case now,” he said.

“The two should go ahead with the discussions and accommodate each other,” said Mr Awiti, noting that the two unions fight for the same rights.

“Even when they call strikes, the time always coincides,” he said. “To me, only the names are different.”

Mr Awiti advised the unions not to have any fears that either of them would be “swallowed”.

To circumvent the fears, the two unions should sit and review the structure of the leadership so that everybody was accommodated, he suggested.

“The welfare of a primary school teacher and that of a secondary school teacher are the same,” he said.

The Nation has established that Kuppet called a meeting this week to discuss the merger plan, which Knut already appears to be comfortable with.

On Monday, Knut secretary-general Wilson Sossion vowed to continue with the merger plans.

Mr Sossion said the move would be in the interest of teachers and so his union would engage them directly.

“We are not going to rest in the struggle to ensure that teachers are united. We will go flat out to sell the agenda,” he said.

“We must set aside our differences. In any case, teachers were divided by the government for its own interests,” he added.

Reports of the merger came after a report by the global teachers’ federation, Education International, which last month recommended that the two should be joined to improve their bargaining power.