The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) has put the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to task over a list it released of 36,505 promoted teachers.
This is after numerous complaints from teachers who are still skeptical on whether the exercise was fair.
Some teachers were shocked to learn that junior teachers with recent TSC numbers were promoted and they who have served for many years were left.
Knut now wants the Commission to publish names of the teachers it claims were successfully promoted instead of the raw list which contain only TSC numbers.
At the same time Knut secretary general, Collins Oyuu, has ordered his branch executive secretaries to furnish him with details of teachers in their zones who applied for promotion and missed.
“We have noted with concern that there is so much complain on this issue after the release of the results.
The purpose of this communication is to request you to compile data on the above issue (promotion of teachers) as per Zone in your Branch using a template attached herein.
This information should reach the Head Office through the email address ict@knut.or.ke by Monday 11th March 2024 before you proceed to the Nakuru meeting,” said Oyuu in a memo.
TSC published the list of successfully promoted teachers on its website following interviews conducted in December and January.
However, it was a disappointment for thousands of others who applied and attended interviews but were not considered for promotion.
“Can someone tell me what is wrong with my file? Or what is TSC looking for in these interviews? I am shortlisted every year but never considered [for promotion]. Teachers that I interviewed for and mentored are now getting ahead of me and becoming my bosses. It’s quite demoralising. I think I will opt for early retirement because I am no longer motivated to work; I have five months to 50 [years] and then I will hang up my boots,” said a teacher from Elgeyo Marakwet.
He said that his last promotion was in 2011. He had been interviewed in 2017, 2021, 2023, and 2024 and had not been considered for promotion on each occasion.
Teachers’ unions have complained that many of their members have been stagnating in the same grades for years.
The TSC has cited a lack of funds to promote teachers and has only done so to fill gaps caused by natural attrition.
It has been allocated Sh1 billion for promotions in the current financial year, although it had requested Sh2.2 billion.
Last week, Kenya National Union of Teachers secretary-general Collins Oyuu asked the TSC to pay arrears to promoted teachers for the time they qualified for promotion but were not assigned to the new job grades.