The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has called on the Ministry of Education to hasten the process of posting Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers for the sake of Grade 7 learners.
KNUT through the Eldoret East Branch Executive Sammy Bor said that since JSS began reporting to schools at the end of January they have not been learning because teachers have not yet been posted.
“As a union, we are concerned with how junior secondary school is being handled by the government. As I am talking, despite students joining junior secondary schools, there is a big shortage of teachers making it hard for learning to kick off,” said the KNUT boss.
According to Bor, the staffing issue needs to be urgently addressed for the sake of Grade 7 learners.
“There is a lot of confusion in many schools – children are going to school but are not being taught. Nothing much is happening and that is why the ministry should hasten to address the matter.
“A school like Hill School has over five streams and yet the government is sending one teacher per school. What do you expect them to do with such a population? For this program to be efficient, more teachers must be employed,” he added.
In addition, he said that infrastructure and learning materials procurement was another issue that needed addressing.
“Most schools have not received textbooks as promised by the government, the issue of capitation should also be quickened for the smooth running of learning. There is a lot of confusion since most students are not being taught,” said Bor.