The Kenya National union of Teachers, KNUT, has embarked on a process of collecting data for teachers who have submitted their higher qualification certificates to the Teachers Service Commission, TSC, effective 2014 to date. Through a memo sent to all branch executive Secretaries, the KNUT Deputy Secretary General, Hesbon A Otieno, requests the secretaries to compile the data and send it to the National office before Thursday, 18th October, 2018. “You are hereby instructed to urgently furnish this office (KNUT National office) with the above data by Thursday 18th October, 2018,” says Otieno.

The collection of this data is to inform the national office on the exact number of teachers who have attained higher qualifications but are yet to be promoted by the TSC. KNUT has been estimating the numbers of those teachers to be about 30,000. KNUT says it will use the data during the forth coming crunch talks with the TSC. “This is to necessitate our talks with the TSC regarding the issue of ‘Teachers Promotion’ during the meeting scheduled for Friday 19th October, 2018.” Otieno adds in the circular dated October 16, 2018.

Friday’s meeting comes after KNUT and TSC failed to agree on pertinent issues raised by KNUT’s negotiating team. Sonme of the contentious issues are: Promotion of teachers who have attained higher qualifications, Stopping the delocalization and Teachers’ evaluation exercises by the TSC.

The branch executive secretaries are expected to collate the teachers’ data that include; the teacher’s name, TSC Number, Qualifications, Year of Submission (of higher qualifications certificate to the TSC) and the teacher’s KNUT branch name. Teachers with higher qualifications will be hoping to be considered for promotions after Friday’s meeting between the KNUT and TSC in Nairobi.

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These are the Education related news articles that made headlines this week, as reported across various media platforms:

• Avoid Sponsors- Rachel Ruto advises young Girls:

The wife to the Deputy president, Mrs Rachel Ruto, this week, called on young women to avoid getting ‘sponsors’ to fund expensive lifestyles as this exposed them to a myriad of dangers. “This issue of sponsors should not be part of your life. You don’t need to get money from a man for you to survive. Many of these people will just take you for granted,” Mrs. Ruto said. The DP’s wife was Speaking during the celebration of the Day of the Girl Child at Kenyatta University.

• Education CS, Amb. Amina, and CS Interior, Dr. Fred Matiang’ to Lead Final National Examinations’ preparations Multi-Agency meeting on Monday 

Education CS and her Interior counter part will on Monday lead a top officials’ meeting to lay down final preparations for this year’s KCPE and KCSE exams that begin in a fortnight’s time. During the Monday meeting, security officials will be given keys to the metallic containers where exam materials are to be kept. The Kenya National examinations Council, KNEC, has invited top security officials, regional directors of education and school heads representatives for the ultimate meeting.
Cabinet Secretaries Dr. Amina Mohamed, Dr. Fred Matiang’i and Joe Mucheru and Teachers Service Commission Chief Executive Officer, Nancy Macharia, will attend the multi-agency meeting.

• Schools using sniffer dogs to detect drugs

Learning institutions are using highly trained sniffer dogs to flush out drugs from their compounds. A team led by Kissinger Sambu pitched camp at Kangema High School in Murang’a where bhang, drugs and mobile phone parts hidden by the students were recovered. In one of the dormitories, the dog barked non-stop until Kissinger climbed up the roof and removed rolls of bhang wrapped in a polythene bag. drug addiction is on the rise among high school students and it has been blamed to be the leading cause for schools’ fires.

• Education Ministry takes over Sh 2.4 Billion School Feeding Programme (SFP) from WFP

The government, through the ministry of Education, will disburse cash directly to primary schools for purchase of food rations under the School Feeding Programme (SFP).  The Sh2.4 billion allocated for the 2018/19 financial year by the Ministry of Education will be remitted directly to schools to buy food directly from farmers and traders in the areas the schools are located. The government took over the programme from the World Food Programme (WFP), which has been running the programme.

• You will not be financed in future if you do not issue free education monies receipts to learners- Basic education PS, Dr. Belio Kipsang, warns schools.

Education Principal Secretary, Dr. Belio Kipsang, has warned schools that do not issue receipts to students for Free Primary Education, FPE, and Free Secondary Education, FSE, that they will not be funded in future.

In a circular dated September 10, the PS directs all secondary schools’ heads to acknowledge receipt of the monies by issuing official receipts. Kipsang says the receipts must be sent to his office through the regional directors of education. He says all receipts must be received within one month of payments. “Failure to which further release of grants to such schools will be suspended,” said the PS.

• Moi Varsity, Mombasa, lecturers in demos over salary arrears:

More than 70 lecturers from Moi University’s Mombasa campus are on strike. the dons are  demanding salary arrears running into millions and which have accumulated since 2015. They have sought the intervention of Education CS Amina Mohamed, the Commission for University Education, the Ombudsman, labour unions, the anti-corruption agency, Mombasa governor Hassan Joho and civil society organisations. Moi University part time lecturers secretary general Vincent Kaingu said lecturers are also demanding appointment letters detailing names of units taught with payment rates.

• A student at Macumo Day Secondary School, Embu, slashes Lab Technician in an attempted assault on the principal.

Police in Embu county are holding a student of Macumo Day Secondary School for questioning after he allegedly attacked the school’s laboratory technician on Friday, October 12. The student is said to have been annoyed  by the institution’s head teacher whom he targeted with a panga in a bid to slash, him. Unfortunately, the  razor sharp panga landed on Anthony Njuki, the lab technician, in the head. Njuki also suffered a broken arm and was rushed to hospital for treatment where he is receiving medication.

•  Popular City blogger attacked, fingers crashed.

An outspoken city blogger is nursing serious injuries after he was abducted by unknown assailants on Monday outside a city mall. Mr. Peter Amunga said the gang of four abducted him as he boarded a matatu outside Lavington Mall where he had attended a meeting. The gang seemingly had been waiting for him after confirming that he was in the mall, he said. The blogger has been vocal in highlighting education related matters including the alleged grand corruption at the Teachers service Commission, TSC. Amunga is admitted at a city hospital after an operation was done on his fingers on Wednesday.

• West Pokot-Marakwet border schools joined over security concerns ahead of National examinations.

2 schools on the West Pokot and Elgeyo Marakwet borders have been amalgamated. Kipsitona Primary School in Tabach ward, West Pokot, was closed in July after bandits attacked a nearby village, killing two people and stealing livestock. The school has been merged with Kamelei Primary School to allow KCPE candidates to prepare for the examinations. The national tests start in two weeks’ time.

• Teachers not well prepared for the Government’s  lap top project- CS Amina says

Education CS, Dr. Amina, has  said that  teachers had been slow to adopt information and communication technology. “The rate at which teachers are embracing the use of technology is low due to lack of practise and support/training,” Amina told Parliamentary Committee on education, this week. Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed made the revelations when she appeared before the National Assembly’s Education committee on Tuesday. This was the first time the CS was highlighting about the  project. She said the laptops are also being mishandled and stolen, a move that is derailing the project’s implementation.

• 2 teachers killed by Al-Shabaab militia in Mandera

Two teachers were Wednesday morning killed by suspected Al-Shabaab militants in Mandera County.

According to police, the two Arabia Boys High School teachers were non-locals. “They threw an explosive in a room that had four teachers, two managed to escape,” a local police officer told journalists. Two Kenya police reservists manning the teacher’s quarters were overpowered by the militants and forced to flee to safety. insecurity has remained on a high in the Nort eastern region for a long time.

• CS Amina bans schools’ visits during the exams period.

The Education Ministry, on Monday, banned school visits by parents and guardians during the exams period. Outlawed, also, are mobile phones within the examination centres. “Parents whose children will be found with mobile phones in school will be held personally responsible for the actions. Their children will immediately be suspended from school and such candidates will not be allowed to sit the examinations,” Amina said during a Stake holders’ meeting on Monday.

• KNUT Secretary Genera, Wilson Sossion, urges TSC to hire untrained locals to curb Shabab attacks in Northeastern schools.

The Kenya Nation union of Teachers, Knut, Secretary General Wilson Sossion has asked the TSC  to recruit untrained teachers from local communities in Northeastern to reduce attacks targetting schools in the region. He says “this would greatly reduce incidents attacks on teachers, schools and school properties,”. The SG gave the advice during a presser on Friday, this week. “TSC should allow students who have completed high school to work as untrained teachers as they continue to train under School-based programme,” Sossion added. This comes after 2 teachers were killed on Wednesday night by suspected Al-Sabab militia.

• Nairobi county bans ECDE graduations, says parents being exploited.

Nairobi County Government has banned Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) graduation ceremonies in all public schools across the county citing exploitation of parents. Nairobi Education Executive Janet Ouko on Tuesday said this is part of measures to ensure that ECDE in all the public schools in the county is completely free giving access to education for all children. “We have noted with concern that schools are planning ECDE graduation ceremonies and charging parents between Sh1,000 and 1500. This is against the spirit of free ECDE which the county is implementing. We have therefore issued a ban on those ceremonies especially if they attract a charge to the parents,” said Ouko in a memo. Parents have been paying hefty amounts of money towards the graduation ceremonies.