Teachers’ Strike Paralyzes Learning in Public Junior Schools as Staffing Shortages Persist
Learning in Grades Seven and Eight in thousands of public schools has been paralyzed as the strike by intern teachers enters its second week. Junior secondary school (JSS) learners have been idling in classrooms as there is no one to teach them.
A staffing shortage that has hit JSS since its roll-out last year has exacerbated the crisis.
The stalemate between the interns and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) entered its second week on Monday this week, even as learning in private schools went on unabated.
Teachers have engaged in protests across the country, agitating for their employment on permanent and pensionable terms and citing last month’s ruling in their favor by the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
Government’s Controversial Teacher Recruitment Program
The government started recruiting teachers on one-year contracts in 2019 under the controversial programme.
There are 46,000 such teachers, the majority of whom are deployed to JSS, which consists of Grades Seven, Eight, and Nine. Grade Nine will be rolled out in January.
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Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) Secretary-General Akello Misori emphasized that interns are the cornerstone of JSS and described the situation as dire, requiring intervention.
He noted it is no longer just a labor issue but an education issue. The union last week petitioned the TSC, the National Assembly Committee on Labour, and the National Treasury to resolve the impasse. However, the union has not received a response on the matter.
School has been forced to hire four trainees who are in teaching practice to teach the JSS learners. Teachers hired by the board of management are attending to the learners together with trainees on teaching practice.
Most non-local teachers have yet to travel back to their work stations from the holidays. Some claim they are facing intimidation from senior TSC officers who have influenced police officers not to acknowledge their notification to stage peaceful processions.
Interns at Work
On Tuesday, some JSS teachers held demonstrations in Kitale, Trans Nzoia County, vowing not to return to work until their demands are met. The Headteacher of Kitale School, David Luganda, reported that learning was not interrupted and all teachers were on duty, including four interns.
Trans Nzoia Parents Association chairperson Wellington Waliaula expressed his concerns, urging the government to act on this matter because children are not learning.
During their demonstrations, the JSS teachers dismissed a statement made by National Assembly Education Committee chair Julius Melly urging them to resume work on the promise that 26,000 of them will be employed on permanent and pensionable terms in January.
Walter Wanjala, who spoke on behalf of the group, said they would only end their strike once they receive a formal communication from the TSC about changing the employment terms for 46,000 teachers, not from politicians. There were also demonstrations in Kapenguria town on Monday.
At Basi Primary School in Kilifi County, only one JSS teacher, who is employed on permanent terms, was present in the school on Monday. A teacher in Rabai noted that the few permanent teachers posted to JSS are overworked. Some schools have one teacher on permanent terms, making it difficult to control all the learners.
Speaking to the Nation, Kuppet Kilifi branch vice executive secretary Zacharia Opollo said headteachers were frustrated, pointing out that there is no learning this term, and it has never been there, thus wasting a whole generation. Headteachers are struggling to look for university students to teach in their schools.
Teachers’ Strike Paralyzes Learning in Public Junior Schools as Staffing Shortages Persist
