The government has made two major concessions to win over the 312,060 teachers and avert a looming strike planned for next month when schools open for third term. Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has yielded to pressure from unions to review performance appraisal tools, weakening one of the major pillars the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) is fronting to push mass action
Knut wants the commission to suspend the Performance Contract (PC) and Teacher Performance Appraisal and Development (TPAD) tools that have been running for the last two years.
The union argues that the tools were implanted without proper consultation and that teachers’ performances have dropped. “We demand that these tools be withdrawn immediately and unconditionally, failure to which we will not open schools on September 1,” said Wilson Sossion, Knut Secretary General. Knut has also listed delocalisation, performance tools, promotions, reinstatement of schemes of service and proposed compulsory career development training for teachers as points of dispute.
President Uhuru Kenyatta this week made a major announcement calling for a review of the ongoing delocalisation of teachers, effectively removing the item from the dispute list. Uhuru instructed Ministry of Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed to spearhead the review of the transfer policy, a move that caught Knut off guard. The President said it had come to his attention that many families have been affected by the mass transfers, winning teachers’ hearts with the intervention. And speaking just a day after the President’s directive, TSC Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia has called for an immediate meeting to re-look the policy.
