The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers, Kuppet, has amended its constitution. The amendments were done during the 2024 Annual Delegates Conference, ADC, in Vihiga.
During the ADC, major constitutional amendments were made which included scrapping the retirement age for contestants, increasing nomination fees and introduction of new posts at Branch, Regional and National levels.
Get a detailed summary of the amendments here.
SUMMARY OF THE 2024 AMMENDMENTS OF THE KUPPET CONSTITUTION
The articles touched in the amendments are:
Article 2: 1A INTERPRETATION
This is a new article which defines a member, a delegate and a branch.
❇️ A member has been difined as teacher/lecturer/trainer who is a fully paid up member of KUPPET.
❇️ A delegate has been defined as a registered official or members of KUPPET entitled to attend the annual and the special delegates conference.
❇️ A county has been defined as a geographical regional within which a KUPPET branch is confined.
Article 4.0: THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Clause VA has been added.
❇️(VA) To buttress gender equity and equal opportunities without any forms of discrimination on the basis of inter Alia sex, race, tribe, age or religion.
Article 8.20: Delegates to the Conference
❇️ The article has increased the number of elected delegates from 10 to 14 by adding 4 new elective seats which are:
1st Assistant Gender Secretary, 2nd assistant Gender Secretary, 3rd Assistant Gender Secretary and Assistant Secretary Junior Secondary.
❇️ These additional slots for gender are aimed at increasing ladies representation in union leadership while the secretary Junior Secondary is sector specific for the junior secondary sector just like the secretary secondary for the regular secondary soon to be called senior secondary sector and secretary tertiary for the tertiary sector.
❇️ The article also brings in pro-rata delegates who shall be determined by the membership of a branch. For every 100 members above the first 300 members a branch will elect one pro-rata delegate during the BGA. This shall be done annually.
❇️ It also defines who is qualified to contest for a national executive board post.
Article 8.8.1A: Regional Councils
❇️The article introduces a new level of union representation which is the regional council. The regions are (Coast, North Eastern, Eastern, Central, Nairobi, Rift valley, Western, Nyanza)
❇️ This organ shall address teacher welfare issues and union issues at regional level by engaging the regional leadership of the employer and the ministry.
❇️The article give the operational and administrative structures of the Regional Councils. The regional council shall have 7 officials who are: Chairman, Vice chairman, Executive Secretary, Assistant executive secretary, treasurer, assistant Treasurer, woman representative.
Article 8.130: Trustees
❇️The number of union trustees has been increased from 4 to 9. Each region (Coast, North Eastern, Eastern, Central, Nairobi, Rift valley, Western, Nyanza) will have one trustee.
Trustees are the custodians of union properties.
Article 10.0: Officers of the union
❇️ This article captures the additional 4 new elective seats (the 1st assistant Gender Secretary, 2nd assistant Gender Secretary, 3rd Assistant Gender Secretary and Assistant Secretary Junior Secondary) both at branch and national level and outlines their roles.
Article 12.0: Terms of office Bearers
The article remained unchanged.
Article 13.0: Union elections.
❇️The article has ammended the membership requirements for one to contest as a union official at branch level. The minimum membership period was set at one year membership for members in junior secondary (as a transition clause since it’s a new sector) and 5 yrs membership for members in regular secondary/senior secondary and those in tertiary.
❇️All the other clauses remained unchanged.
Article 14.0: Nomination fees
The Nomination fees were revised as follows:
✳️ General Secretary, National Chairman, National treasurer – 500,000/-
✳️ All other National seats – 300,000/-
✳️ Executive Secretary – 200,000/-
✳️ Branch Chair, Branch treasurer – 100,000
✳️ All other Branch executive committee seats – 50,000.
