The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has lashed out at the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) over job evaluation.
Further, the union wants fresh evaluation to be done for all its members terming the previous one as skewed and unfair.
During a 4-day meeting between senior members of the union and TSC in Sawela Lodge in Naivasha, the national chairman Milemba Omboko noted that the SRC evaluation of 2016 targeted what the teachers owned and not their capacity to teach.
MEDICAL COVER
Kuppet and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) agreed to review the medical cover scheme. They will meet again in two weeks to review the issue that had stalled for years. Milemba said.
“The issue of the medical scheme has been a major bother to all teachers and we hope to resolve this when we meet in two weeks,” he said.
PROMOTIONS
Omboko noted that hundreds of teachers had been locked out of promotions adding that the union is keen for a second chance.
“We are demanding a re-evaluation exercise targeting over 100,000 of our members as the first one were unfair and never considered the welfare and potential of teachers.
KUPPET secretary-general Akelo Misori said that they agreed that all diploma teachers who had stagnated for years would be promoted under the new CBA.
“The 2016 CBA is on the last days and we and TSC have developed new job descriptions capturing the true worth of a classroom teacher,” he said.
Misori added that in preparedness for the new CBC curriculum, the TSC had agreed to promote 1,000 graduates who initially had P1 qualifications.
“We have agreed to suspend the requirements of a master’s degree for Principals or other promotions within the teaching service,” he said.
MATERNITY ISSUE FOR INTERNS
Maternity issues for interns were revisited during the meeting. The teachers’ employer had given intern teachers 30 days which is against the law.
“We have agreed that an intern teacher will get 90 days maternity leave as the issue of motherhood borders on human rights,” he said.
PROMOTION OF C3 TEACHERS AND TTC TUTORS
The Job Re-Evaluation has resulted in the creation of a new opening in C4 for Sen Master IV and Senior Lecturer IV for those in TTCs who do not have administrative positions.
At the moment, the Commission has advertised 6,680 vacancies for the cadres as the first step towards institutionalizing C4 as a promotional grade from
Under the CBC, the TTC tutors will be training teachers at the Diploma level, hence the repositioning of their roles. Administrators In TTCs including Deans and Registrars will have a clear career path with substantive appointments.
POLICY ON POSTGRADUATE QUALIFICATIONS
The Commission agreed to suspend the requirement of a Master’s degree for Principals or other promotions within the teaching service. This is in line with regulations by me Public Service Commission which has scrapped the requirement of a Master’s degree or promotions at Job Group P and above.
Post-graduate qualifications will be considered as an added advantage. The union, however, demanded the introduction of a Post Graduate Allowance for teachers who possess Master’s and Ph.D. degrees Irrespective of their position in service.
REDEPLOYMENT OF GRADUATE TEACHERS FROM PRIMARY
In readiness for the new CBC curriculum, the Commission will promote 1.000 graduate teachers who initially had P1 qualifications to secondary schools every financial year.
By June 30, it shall have redeployed 2,000 of such teachers, and the redeployment will continue until the numbers are fully addressed. The teachers must have obtained a KCSE mean grade of C+ and C+ in two teaching subjects.
