By MN Reporter

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has said they will seek redress with government after a botched attempt to promote teachers.

The union Secretary General Akello Misori told the press in Migori town on Sunday that teachers should be patient after Teachers Service Commission advertised and later pulled down a call for promotion of teachers.

Misori said the move was discriminatory, as he said there was need to amend and adjust the promotional advert.

“This is the government that we can engage. The Union has the capacity to address issues with the employer as they may arise,” Misori said.

Misori said they plan to hold talks as a union with TSC and ministry of education officials especially after claims that promotion have delayed as government have failed to budget over the same in the past decade.

“The commission in the past when appearing before parliament committee claimed there was no budget allocationhas for promotion, we will sought clarity over this,” he said.

In an advertisement dated December 22, TSC had made public it’s intention to promote 13,713 teachers to leadership positions in various secondary and primary schools across the country, where it had indicated that it was targeting both teachers in regular schools.

Additionally, it targeted teachers in Special Needs Education (SNE) institutions.

It had also sought to recruit 1,021 school heads to various institutions in Arid and Semi-Arid counties which include Kajiado, Isiolo, Garissa, Samburu, Taita Taveta, Tana River, Turkana, Wajir and West Pokot.

It also advertised four vacant positions for Chief Principal positions in various teachers’ training colleges.

“As teachers wer were disappointment by the move which has caused our ranks and file to be depressed,” Misori said.

Speaking in Migori town on Tuesday afternoon Migori KUPPET Executive Secretary Orwa Jasolo said grades C3-C5 who form 80 percent of post primary school classroom teachers were never allocated any share in the promotion that was advertised and pulled down by TSC.

Orwa emphasised that from a total of over 110,000 post primary teachers only 3,000 teachers are were set to be promoted, a number which represented only 0.2 percent.

“Even that advert had only a drop in the ocean as promotions only targeted those in higher job groups while those in lower places will stagnate,” he said.

He said that majority of classroom teachers stagnated between 5 to 22 years in grade C3 and C5 yet there has been no position being advertised for the same job group.

Migori KUPPET Treasurer Florence Odour clarified that what the TSC was claiming to be a promotion was actually changing of grades and job group names.

“TSC changed teacher’s job groups from M, N and P as we used to refer then to C2, C3, C4 which is actually not a promotion but basically naming changing”, Odour said.

She called upon the TSC to hear the pleas of teachers and address their concerns in terms of promotions and pay rise.