Sossion hits at Matiang’i as division rocks teachers union

Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary general Wilson Sossion on Thursday stepped up his attack on Education Cabinet Fred Matiang’i asking him to be ‘professional and not controversial’.

Speaking at Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) during the launch of a report on learning assessment in schools, Mr Sossion said the recent decisions by the CS are mere public relation gimmicks.

Mr Sossion also hit out at the CS for his frequent impromptu visits to schools and wondered if he will be able to inspect more than 30,000 schools across the country alone.

The Knut Secretary General has fallen out with Dr Matiang’i over radical changes in administration of national examination and change of school calendar that the CS announced two weeks ago but which has received support from Knut Chairman Mudzo Nzili.

On Saturday, in a text message to Mr Sossion over his opposition to the rules, Dr Matiang’i said that he held two meetings with Knut and Kenya Union of Post Primary education teachers (Kuppet) officials before they held a joint press conference.

The Cabinet Secretary went on: “You were on leave, I was told. I did not know KNUT is Sossion and Sossion is KNUT.”

On Thursday, Mr Sossion said the Cabinet Secretary should allow his officers in the quality assurance to work.

“Why do we have quality assurance officers in the country? They need facilitation to work and not visits by the CS,” said the Knut Secretary General.

However, in past events, Dr Matiang’i has maintained that the visits will continue and teacher’s union leaders should not get worried about it.

Meanwhile the top decision making organ at Knut will meet on Friday in Nairobi in a bid to address emerging division in the union pitting Mr Sossion and Mr Nzili.

The 44-member National Executive Committee was summoned this week following divisions and will also make a decision on whether to support the rules or oppose them.

Mr Sossion is opposed to the rules while Mr Nzili supports them insisting that the union was part and parcel of the meetings that culminated into the coming up of the rules that were announced two weeks ago.

“We will meet to resolve this issue of conflict between the chairman and Secretary General which is now getting out of hand,” said a member of NEC.

Mr Sossion insists that the recommendations arrived at in the meetings even in the presence of his representative cannot bind the union members unless approved and adopted by the union organs.

Mr Sossion said the office of the Secretary General takes responsibility for all union decisions and the person of the Secretary General is personally liable and accountable to all union decisions and is the sole spokesman of the union and its members.

This is the third time the two leaders are differing in public in a period of less than six months over issues of national importance affecting teachers.

Last year, Mr Nzili and Mr Sossion differed sharply on a visit to State House in November to discuss their salary dispute with the government and which led to the start of negotiation between the union and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) over a Collective Bargaining Agreement.

On May 1, Mr Sossion boycotted Labour Day celebration saying there was nothing to celebrate, however, Mr Nzili attended the event and made it clear that politics should not be mixed with teacher’s issues.

“As a union we work with the government of the day. We cannot mix politics and union issues when dealing with labour concerns,” Mr Nzili said during the Labour Day celebrations.

During March Kericho Senatorial election, Mr Sossion was instrumental in campaigning for a KANU candidate against the government candidate.

On May 5 this year, Knut steering committee held a meeting on delay in payment of allowances to last year’s national examiners without involving Mr Sossion and he cried foul saying there was nothing wrong with the meeting but that courtesy demanded he be informed.