KNUT Pressuring TSC over Deployment of JSS Teachers
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has urged the government to act immediately to deploy teachers to Junior Secondary Schools (JSSs) across the country.
According to reports, most of the pioneer Grade 7 learners under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) are yet to begin learning three days after they officially joined the JSS.
KNUT is not putting pressure on the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) over the deployment of teachers as soon as possible to prevent loss of learning time on the part of the Grade 7 learners.
“We are calling on TSC to consider deploying these teachers early so that the students can have a positive experience,” said David Obuno, Executive Secretary of the KNUT Kisumu branch.
Kisii County Commissioner Tom Anjere, implored all education stakeholders to make sure that children go to school despite the absence of deployed teachers.
“The deputy county commissioner must ensure that any child who qualifies to go to Class 7, Form 1 is able to attend school,” said Anjere
Private schools are also experiencing problems of their own as they are experiencing low attendance of learners because most learners have opted to attend public schools.
“I believe it is due to the government’s free primary education policy, as we are not receiving any support from the government and must operate on our own,” said a Principal of a local private school.
According to the Teachers Service Commission, the government has recruited 30,000 teachers for the JSS and it is expected that at least one teacher will be deployed in every public primary schools in the country to handle the JSS.
However, headteachers have urged the Commission to increase the number of teachers because the public school teacher-student ratio is worrying.
“We require at least 10 teachers from the government so that we can handle the high school population,” said Paul Eseme the Deputy Headteacher at Kitale School.
The government now has to act promptly to ensure that the teachers are deployed on time so that learning is not disrupted in Junior Secondary Schools.
Besides, the government could also chip in and address the low attendance in private schools to ensure that education is accessible to all students.
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