Knut decries omission of 15,858 teachers from promotions list
Teachers Service Commission CEO Nancy Macharia.
What you need to know:
- The positions that have been filled were advertised last year.
- Interviews were conducted in December and January this year.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) says 15,858 teachers were left out of the recent promotions by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
Knut Deputy Secretary General Hezbon Otieno said the union will this week petition TSC over the matter.
He said the statistics were compiled from a countrywide survey done in the 110 branches, with teachers who were left out volunteering information.
The figures, he said, were computed last Friday.
“Some of the teachers who have qualified for promotion have stagnated in the same positions for over 12 years, yet the commission has undertaken cosmetic promotions that left them out,” Mr Otieno said.
Speaking in Bomet during the branch election to replace Mr Malel Lang’at as executive secretary following his elevation to First Deputy National Vice Chairman, Mr Otieno said thousands of teachers continue to be retired without benefiting from promotions.
“Apart from those retiring on a daily basis, others are ageing and will soon be leaving service. Why should TSC sit on promotion of a teacher and effect the same with a few months or years to retirement,” said Mr Otieno.
He was accompanied by the Rift Valley representative in the National Executive Council Alfred Rop and the Narok branch executive secretary Simiren Soyantet.
Mr Otieno said failure to promote teachers has led to demoralisation in the workstations which has affected the government’s bid to deliver quality education.
Speaking separately, Mr Lang’at, the first national vice chairman, said the teachers being promoted should be paid salary arrears from the period they were supposed to move to the next job scale.
“Having served for several years without promotion which was overdue, the commission should backdate the payment for the teachers as there has all along been funds to cater for the promotions in the budgetary allocations,” Mr Lang’at said.
Mr Rop and Mr Soyantet said TSC should change the way it awards promotions to teachers, noting that the results of the recent interviews were shrouded in secrecy.
“It is important for the commission to promote teachers as and when they fall due as opposed to the trend where unions have to exert pressure for promotions to be implemented,” Mr Rop said.
Mr Soyantet said teachers play a critical role in shaping the country's human resource yet TSC continues to demoralise them, forcing many teachers to look for greener pastures
“In the past 12 years, TSC has lost many teachers to the county governments and the private sector due to non-attractive pay packages, with salary increments mostly won through strikes,” Mr Soyantet said.
TSC Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia said 36,000 teachers were promoted, with another 6,000 expected to be moved to the next grade this year.
The positions filled were advertised last year and interviews conducted in December and January this year, according to Dr Macharia.
Positions
There were 34 positions for Chief Principal regular schools and 108 for Senior Principal regular secondary schools.
There were 541 positions for Principal regular schools, Deputy Principal II regular schools (547) , senior lecturer I (72) and Deputy Principal III , regular secondary schools ( 1,142).
Senior lecturer (IV) TTC (216), Senior Master IV, regular secondary school (1,928), head teacher , regular primary school (1,049), head teacher SNE primary school (30), deputy head teacher II, regular primary (1,930), senior teacher I, regular primary school (3,040), senior teacher I, SNE primary school, and senior teacher II, SNE primary school (700).
