The second term of 2024 witnessed a spirited effort by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to deploy 6000 teachers to special schools and units nationwide. The recruitment resulted from a deal the Commission and the Kenya Union of Special Needs Teachers (KUSNET) reached. The need was precipitated by a shortage of teachers in these schools across the 47 counties.
However, a group of teachers who spoke to Education News claimed they had not received their allowance since they were deployed in the second term last year. They claim their duty goes beyond the school environment to medical facilities and the learners’ homes.
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Despite this, the teachers are up in arms with the employer, claiming they have not received the special salary allowance as expected. Teachers in special schools and units usually draw a special allowance of KSh10,000 on top of their pay. This is generally meant to motivate them as they handle a technical area of education.
The teachers urgently called upon the KUSNET top brass to rescue their situation by ensuring the deal they reached with the employer was adhered to. Some claimed that if the issue is not resolved expeditiously, they will have no problem returning to regular schools.
Upon signing the Career Progression Guidelines in 2017, many special school and unit teachers felt left out on promotions and began seeking transfers to regular schools. This rendered teaching untenable, attracting the attention of KUSNET.
In the deployment deal, TSC was to employ 1750 teachers. Some teachers were to be deployed by September 2024, followed by 1200 teachers in January 2025, and the last phase consisting of 1200 was to be actualized by June 2025.
As the Ministry of Education burns the midnight oil to ensure Competency-Based Education is actualized, issues affecting the efficient implementation of the curriculum in the stage must be resolved.
By Kaptich Tarus.
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