KUPPET asks government to employ all intern teachers
Kenya Union of Post-primary Teachers (KUPPET) wants the government to absorb all intern teachers and further domicile Junior Secondary School (JSS) learning into secondary schools.
Addressing a press conference in Nyeri officials of the union led by executive secretary Francis Wanjohi said that it's unfair for the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to employ replacement teachers on permanent and pensionable terms and ask intern teachers to sign a further one-year contract while paying them peanuts.
"As a teacher union we feel it's unfair for the government to employ a new set of teachers overlooking interns who have worked for one year while being paid Ksh17,000 per month. These are people who proved their worth during recruitment and should thus be absolved into the service under pensionable terms," Wanjohi said.
At the moment, the KUPPET official noted, many secondary schools are facing a shortage of teachers due to natural attrition and retirement and as such the government has no reason to deny interns the positions.
KUPPET's position on JSS
On domiciling junior secondary schools in existing secondary schools, Wanjohi said that it's a matter of priority since most primary schools have no infrastructure.
"It's our considered view that unless junior secondary is domiciled in secondary schools it will be a cropper, at the moment most primary schools lack facilities such as laboratories among others how do the government expect proper learning?" Wanjohi posed.
Wanjohi, who was flanked by senior officials of his branch, said unless the two anomalies are rectified implementation of CBC will remain a pipe dream.
The officials further called for a return of collective bargaining talks with TSC so that their seventy per cent salary increase is implemented.
"We know our members have had a recent salary hike however we are all aware of the high cost of living in this country we call for the return of CBA talks for our members to earn more," Wanjohi added.
