Knut calls on TSC to reschedule CBC training over Saturday and Sunday

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) has written to TSC to reschedule the ongoing CBC training to avoid conflict over Saturday and Sundays which are populary known as religious days.

Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion said TSC should reschedule CBC training to another date apart from Saturday and Sunday.

“You are aware of the National Constitution and the right to worship by all citizens and considering that we are in a festive season where members are engaging in religious activies on Saturdays and Sundays. We therefore demand that you reschedule any training activities to any other day other than Saturdays and Sundays,’ said Sossin in a letter addressed to TSC CEO Dr Nancy Macharia.

The CBC training has kicked off today for primary school teachers across the country.

Teachers are attending the training in designanted venues in their zones.

The training has started today 17th December for upper primary school teachers and will run for five days till 20th December.

The training for lower primary school teachers (Early Grade Mathematic teachers) will take two days and is expected to start on 21st December and end on 22nd December.

TSC aims to train at least 18,000 teachers. The National Master Trainers had trained the Curriculum Support Officers (CSOs) and CBC Champions at the County Level who thereafter offered professional support to the CSOs and CBC champions in the Zonal teacher training and SNE training venues.

The CSOs and CBC champions are currently incharge of training teachers at their zonal level.

Knut has been on the forefront in leading teachers to reject the new curriculum.

Three months ago TSC made a decision to reinstate back to the register of teachers twenty one of the forty Knut teachers who were kicked out of the payroll for allegedly taking part in disrupting CBC training last year.

Its roughly a year and a half since the teachers employer, TSC, interdicted more than one hundred and sixty teachers for causing chaos in CBC workshops.

TSC and ministry of education had organized training for teachers scheduled for April 2019 but it turned out chaotic after a call to boycott the training by Knut turned to physical eviction of teachers from the training centres.

Out of the one hundred and sixty interdicted teachers forty got dismissed after they failed to convince TSC disciplinary panels that they were innocent of the offences.

Most of them were Knut branch Secretaries, Chairmen and BEC’s. But a good number totaling one hundred and twenty eight had their cases heard and received favorable verdict since they were all reinstated.

However TSC reviewed the cases of the dismissed teachers after they appealed the earlier decision of firing them.

There had been calls to reinstate the teachers back to the teachers register mostly from the political leaders from areas where most of the teachers got dismissed by their employer.

Homabay MP Mr Peter Opondo Kaluma had been on the forefront fighting for reinstatement of these teachers and payment made to beneficiaries of those who died as a result of the dismissals.

A decision had been made in parliament that by August 2020 the dismissed teachers should have their cases concluded by their employer, TSC.

Mr. Peter Kaluma while making the submissions three months ago had emphasized on speedy conclusion of the matter to save the lives of the suffering teachers.

It was also in the assembly sessions that an agreement was made that payments be made as compensation for those who died while on interdiction or as a result of dismissals.

Its a relief for the teachers who have been in the cold for a long time now following the TSC decision to stop their pay.

The dismissed teachers were given ninety days to appeal the decision.

However only twenty one teachers have officially been reinstated back to the register of teachers.

TSC is yet to confirm reinstatement of nineteen others who were summarily dismissed and their names struck from the register of teachers.