Author: Hezron Rooy

COTU Demands Wage Hike for Workers Prior to Labour Day Next week’s Labor Day celebrations will go on as planned, with President William Ruto expected to attend, according to COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli. However, in light of the government’s recent announcement regarding the reassessment of civil servants’ salaries, the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) has called for an increase in workers’ general earnings. COTU members are lobbying for a salary increase for all workers, expressing concerns over the government’s plans to lower overall wage costs. Ahead of the Labor Day celebrations, Atwoli and other leaders emphasized the urgent…

MP Calls for School Reopening Extension Date Amid Heavy Rains Alice Ng’ang’a, a Thika Member of Parliament, has urged the government to extend the school holiday by a week to safeguard students’ safety. Speaking in Thika on Saturday, Ng’ang’a emphasized the significance of analyzing the situation before reopening schools, particularly because the Kenya Meteorological Department predicts further rain. In light of the midweek school holiday on Wednesday, MP Ng’ang’a expressed concern for the children’s safety and suggested an extra week if the rains continue on Monday and Tuesday. Ng’ang’a emphasized the importance of keeping students safe, rather than risking their…

Gov’t Deploys Cops on Highways Ahead of School Reopening — IG Koome Japhet Koome, Inspector General of Police, encouraged motorists on Saturday to exercise caution ahead of the reopening of schools next week. The rainy season, which presents a hazard to students, will see primary and secondary schools reopen next week. The storms have caused flooding that has already affected some schools. Despite the deployment of police and other multi-agency teams along major roadways, Koome encouraged all motorists to collaborate with law enforcement officers to enhance service delivery. According to Koome, the country’s continued torrential rains and floods have killed people…

Gov’t to Extend School Opening Dates on Case-By-Case Basis — DP Gachagua The national government announced on Friday, April 26, that it will extend school opening dates on an individual basis. During a news briefing on the continuing floods in Karen, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua stated that the Ministry of Education would work with various county governments to assess the situation on the ground before advising parents and students on the changes. He also advised students whose schools remained unaffected by the rain to report in accordance with the academic calendar. He said they would analyze each case individually based on its merit.…

Gov’t to Shortlist 2,000 TVET Trainers Next Week TVET Principal Secretary Esther Muoria has revealed that the Ministry plans to hire 2,000 new trainers for technical institutes throughout the country.  She stated that the government recently hired 1,300 trainers for TVETs, who are already in various institutions. According to the PS, the tutors received training in student-based pedagogy from the Kenya School of TVET.  Muoria announced that another 2,000 trainers had been advertised, with plans to commence shortlisting the following week, aiming to address the gap in the student-teacher ratio. She spoke on Friday at the Kabete National Polytechnic, which was celebrating TVET’s 100th anniversary. Moria…

KUPPET Wants TSC to Employ Intern Teachers on Permanent Terms The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has expressed worry about the recent Employment and Labour Relations Court decision, which banned the employment of primary intern teachers in the country.  In this decision, the court held that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) lacked the authority to hire instructors on internship contracts. Additionally, the Commission can only hire teachers on permanent and pensionable contracts.  In a statement, KUPPET said that the verdict could damage Junior Secondary Schools (JSS), which rely significantly on intern teachers. As a result, the union is now…

End of National Schools Categorization: New Secondary Schools Categorization On Thursday, April 25, Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang declared that the government would abolish school categorization at the national level. Belio stated during the Inaugural Annual Symposium on Competency-Based Assessment that this is one method for implementing the new curriculum. Secondary schools are classified as national, extra-county, county, or sub-county under the 8-4-4 system, which is currently being phased out. Kipsang spoke during the symposium about convening a stakeholders’ engagement on the pathways and pathway placement in Senior School. He also mentioned that secondary schools would soon be categorized according…

TVET Student Enrollment Ratio Surpasses Teacher Capacity — CS Machogu As more students enroll in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutes, the demand for teachers grows.  Speaking in Nairobi on Thursday, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu stated that there are currently 389,962 students enrolled in TVET colleges, with 7,133 trainers.  Machogu spoke at the 6th Partnership for Skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering, and Technology (PASET) Conference in Nairobi. Machogu stated that enrollment has exceeded the recommended trainer-to-trainee ratio of 1:20. He stated that TVETs now have a trainer-to-trainee ratio of 1:55.  According to the CS, the government had recruited 2,000 trainers as…

Schools to Reopen Despite Continuous Heavy Rains and Flooding Schools will reopen for the second term next Monday, despite the continuous heavy rains and flooding across the country.  Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang announced on Thursday that the government has formed a multi-agency team to deal with the effects of the severe rains. On April 29, schools will begin their second term. Kipsang mentioned that this year they have been blessed with quite a bit of rain, and he noted that the President directed a multi-agency team yesterday to deal with the challenges that have come with the rains. The PS spoke at the…

Ministry of Education Addresses Grade 9 Classrooms and Teachers Recruitment Plan Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang stated that the ministry is going to build 16,000 additional classrooms for the first cohort of Grade 9 students in 2025. According to Belio, the classes will be ready by January 2025, when schools will enroll Grade 9 students. Belio stated that by the time schools open in January, they would have made available 16,000 classrooms to accommodate Grade 9 learners. He emphasized that, as a government, this was a responsibility they would ensure was fulfilled. The PS stated that it is critical to have learners in a…