Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has responded following grievances from the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) and Kenya Union of Teachers (KNUT) members over irregular promotions.
Speaking on Sunday during the 60th anniversary of Kereri High School in Kisii, Ogamba avoided delving into the politics of the Teachers Service Commission’s (TSC’s) alleged irregularities in the practice and maintained that clear parameters were being met regarding promotions.
He added that the commission was an independent one and was currently in the process of promoting new teachers as interviews were already complete for the same.
“Promotions come depending on available spaces and depending on how you perform, then they will be done. It is being done by TSC and as you are aware TSC is an independent body,” Ogamba clarified.
A photo of the Teachers Service Commission, Chairperson Nancy Macharia addressing journalists on February 23
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TSC
“We have just completed the interviews and they are now undertaking the exercise of analysing to see who is going to be promoted.”
The issue of irregular promotions first came up on January 30 when KUPPET officials raised alarm over the criteria being used to allocate the promotion slots terming it unfair and discriminatory.
In the press briefing, the officials claimed that the promotion of teachers and distribution of resources across the schools was not being done equally across all the counties.
KUPPET’s Secretary General Moses Nthurima stated, “We want to see the commission allocate proportionately the slots of promotion which means the counties that have gotten the highest number of teachers must get the highest number of slots so that we act fairly in terms of spreading.”
“For that, we are demanding that the Teachers Service Commission use pro-rata to ensure that teachers are treated equally.”
On Sunday, February 6, KNUT’s First National Vice Chairperson Malel Lang’at waded into the discussion, terming the promotion of 25,288 teachers as insufficient to address career stagnation and professional growth across the country.
Lang’at placed the blame on TSC’s mission intended to staff schools in marginalised areas which had supposedly turned out to be a major cause of inequality in the exercise.
”We have many teachers who have qualified for promotion but the Teachers Service Commission is still sitting on the same. Even the recent promotions where they claimed to have promoted the same,” Lang’at stated.
KUPPET members during a press conference on August 25, 2024.
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KUPPET