We’ll consider compensating you for extra duties, education CS tells head teachers

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba. He has promised to look into all the issues raised by head teachers during the recent KEPSHA conference.

Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Julius Ogamba has assured head teachers that the issues they raised during the KEPSHA conference in Mombasa will be addressed, including re-examining the possibility of compensating them for the extra duties.

“Where your duties have increased we will look into that because it is a fact. We will not put our heads in the sand…we don’t want our teachers and professors in the street, they are supposed to be in class teaching our students,” he added, commending them for overseeing the successful transition to Junior School.

He said they will work towards ensuring they get better bargains for the benefit of both parties.

“We will assess what needs to be done, including their financial implications and where it is possible, we will do it. Where it is not possible, we tell you why it is not possible and we bargain with you to accept the position…but I promise you, the transition we are doing and the changes, we will align them to ensure that they are smooth,” said Ogamba.

Addressing the head teachers when the week-long conference came to an end on November 7, 2024 at Sheikh Zayed Hall, Ogamba reiterated that teachers need to be respected and be given their place in society because of the work they do.

 

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His sentiments come as the head teachers called on their employer Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the Ministry of Education to confirm them as principals of Junior School after acting for close to 2 years, now heading to the third year.

However, TSC CEO Dr Nancy Macharia, who had addressed the teachers a day before, had noted that their confirmation should be captured in the next cycle of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

She urged teachers to work closely with the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) to ensure that their new job description, including the additional responsibilities of managing Junior School, is correctly captured in the next CBA, adding that the commission will also act swiftly on any recommendations the head teachers submit after the conference.

He stated that the government is making progress in the construction of 16,000 classrooms that are required to accommodate Grade 9 learners in January 2025, adding that he will supervise to ensure they are complete and built to the required standards, assuring the head teachers that Grade 9 textbooks will reach schools before the start of term one in January 2025.

By Roy Hezron

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