Resolve dispute over JSS teachers’ contracts
The junior secondary school (JSS) teachers have been on strike for several weeks, presenting a major challenge in the education sector. The tutors decided to stay away when schools reopened for the second term.
However, it is quite encouraging that their leaders have now suspended their work boycott until July 5, so that negotiations can be carried out to end the crisis. The 46,000 graduate teachers, who were hired as interns in 2019, want the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to employ them on permanent and pensionable terms. They have been on strike since April 17.
It is important that the dispute is quickly resolved so that learning is not derailed as the pioneer class goes to Grade 9. Also in the JSS are Grades 7 and 8.
The good news is that there is a reprieve for some 740 sacked JSS teachers as the Education ministry seeks a review the TSC decision. This follows a petition by the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) to the TSC to reinstate them within two weeks or it may go to court.
The TSC had issued “show-cause” letters to 10,348 tutors to respond within 14 days. Some 9,606 reported back, but 742 had their contracts cancelled. Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang has urged the Labour ministry and the TSC to deal with the matter.
Inadequate classrooms and lack of teachers have been some of the recurring problems since the introduction of the JSS, as part of the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). However, PS Kipsang has pledged the construction of 16,000 classrooms by January. This will not be enough but it is welcome. He has also promised to enhance learners’ safety while providing the essential facilities, such as classrooms, and desks.
The JSS programme should be streamlined so that all the learners can get adequate instruction to prepare them for senior secondary school. There has been an outcry about a mismatch in skills, with teachers being required to handle many subjects they have not been trained in. This must be rectified so as not to undermine the quality of education.
