TSC cancels promotions advert for 14,738 vacancies after protests from KUPPET
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has with immediate effect cancelled an advert for 14,738 promotion vacancies. The vacancies had caused a heated debate among the teaching circles after it emerged that a section of the l become a sticky point. The tutors’ employer has in the last two weeks appeared before the National Assembly Education and Research Committee two times.
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) officials across the country were displeased with the advert. This is after it emerged that teachers in grade C3 (Secondary Teacher 1) and Diploma teachers would miss out on the promotions.
KUPPET Chairman Omboko Milemba welcomed the cancellation and asked the TSC to increase the number of vacancies.
“People deserving promotion are not the target of the advertisement. These are teachers in C3 and C4 job groups. It is a drop in the ocean,” Mr Milemba said.
According to the advertisement, most of the positions would have gone to primary schools, with just 3,392 secondary school slots.
The vacancies arose from retirements, resignations or deaths. Many teachers have also been holding managerial positions in acting capacity.
Mr Milemba blamed the commission for not promoting teachers, thus making them lose enormous benefits.
Nairobi Kuppet Branch Secretary-General Moses Mbora via a presser said stagnating in one grade for long has demoralized many teachers.
“C3 grade is where teachers have stagnated most. Slots were advertised for D4 grade yet there are many principals in D3 who deserve promotion. Principals were interviewed for promotion to D4 grade in April but nothing happened. We’ve seen another advertisement and their positions are not mentioned,” said Mr. Mbora.
He added that having many principals and chief principals and failing to promote deputies would create a succession crisis.
Mr Mbora said stagnating in a job group denies teachers benefits like enhanced medical cover.
“Such a teacher loses on better pension because it is pegged on basic pay,” Mr Mbora added.
On December 13, 2022, the TSC CEO Madam Nancy Macharia and her team met the parliamentary committee on Education to answer pertinent issues touching teacher recruitment and promotions in Kenya.
During the grilling, the CEO struggled to convince the committee on key issues among them the promotion of teachers.
The CEO then promised to roll out promotion of teachers in January 2023.
The most affected teachers; mostly in lower job grades, have always been the classroom teachers, with some having stagnated in Job group C3 (formerly L) for more than 15 years.
The 2017 CBA saw school administrators awarded hefty salaries making the gap between the highest paid teacher in secondary school (D5) and the lowest paid (C1) to stand at over ksh100,000 in basic salary.
The C3 teachers forms the majority of the teachers in secondary school, they occupy the bottom of the pyramid.
This author independently did a research on the now cancelled promotions advert and made the following observations:
1. All classroom teachers in Job group C3 had been locked out (these are the majority teachers who have stagnated for years)
2. All principals in Job group D3 have been locked out( these are majority heads heading sub-county secondary schools)
3. All acting administrators (acting senior teachers, Senior masters, deputies and principals) have been
locked out.
