Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers across the country have staged a countrywide protest, halting the commencement of the second term in many regions, demanding permanent and pensionable employment terms.
Teachers, alongside officials from the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), have taken a firm stance, asserting their refusal to return to work until their grievances are addressed comprehensively. Their primary demands revolve around the government's confirmation of permanent and pensionable (PnP) terms of employment, challenging the inadequacy of the current salary structure, notably pegged at Sh17,000.
Peter Bett, the Vice Chairman of KUPPET, emphasized the urgency of the situation, calling upon the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to swiftly intervene and resolve the impasse. He highlighted the recent legal ruling that deemed the existing internship and contract arrangements as illegal, stressing the imperative for compliance by both the teachers' employer and the government.
The roots of this disruption trace back to the TSC's initiative to address the persistent issue of teacher shortages by employing 46,000 intern teachers, of whom 21,500 were designated to teach at JSS. However, discontent among these educators has simmered, culminating in a nationwide display of dissent.
Counties such as Narok, Nyeri, Meru, Nyamira, Bomet, and Machakos have borne the brunt of the protest, witnessing a complete paralysis of learning activities as teachers take to the streets to assert their demands.
Nationwide JSS Teachers Protest Disrupts Second Term Learning