124,105 Teachers Stagnant in Same Job Group For 5 Years Without Promotion, KUPPET Reveals
According to a report by the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), 124,105 teachers have been stuck in the same job group for at least five years without being promoted.
The Kuppet report reveals that it will cost the government approximately Sh20 billion to promote all these teachers this financial year.
The report highlights that the estimated budget required to promote teachers who have been stagnating in their positions for more than five years alone is Sh10.25 billion.
Kuppet Secretary General, Akello Misori, claims that the average time it takes for a teacher to progress to a higher grade is nine years, regardless of academic qualifications.
However, among the stagnated teachers, 46,550 have served in one job group for more than five years, while 77,645 teachers have remained in one job group for less than five years.
The report was presented to members of the National Assembly Education Committee by Kuppet and Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) officials in Nairobi.
Misori claims that the research was triggered by members’ concerns about the high number of teachers serving endlessly in acting positions when there are vacancies requiring their substantive appointment to the positions.
Knut Secretary General, Collins Oyuu, told MPs that only teachers in administration have been promoted, while the rest of the teachers have remained stagnant. Oyuu claims that the TSC has not considered teachers who have upgraded their academic qualifications.
House Education Committee chairperson, Julius Melly, promises to push for action and bring change in the education sector within six months.
The Kuppet report reveals that the systemic stagnation in the service has negatively impacted teachers in many ways, including loss of income for work done.
Misori claims that the stagnation has led to the supersession of seniority, where some teachers now work at the same level or even below the students they taught.
He further explains that some teachers had stagnated in Job Group L for more than five years, which added to the six years under CPGs, had left them stagnant for more than 11 years.
The report also highlights that lack of promotions has led to the loss of service benefits, including medical insurance and pensions that are based on pay grades.
According to a report from the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), over 100,000 teachers in Kenyan public schools have not been promoted for several years.
The report also found that 6,031 school administrators were holding acting positions, meaning they are being denied the perks and benefits associated with their positions.
The lack of promotion and job security has led to low morale and productivity among teachers, with many leaving the profession in frustration.
There is also a significant gap in leadership positions within Kenyan schools, with a shortage of 26,302 administrators, leaving a significant shortfall in the required number of staff.
The report states that by February 2023, there were around 31,847 administrators in Kenyan public schools, compared to the required 57,000.
Speaking to MPs, KUPPET’s Secretary-General, Akelo Misori, and the union’s National Chairman, Omboko Milemba, explained how the stagnation of promotions began in 2016, when the teacher’s employer adopted Career Progression Guidelines (CPGs) and discarded the three schemes of service.
The conversion from the schemes of service to CPGs was informed by the teachers’ job groups, responsibilities, and the category of institution where they served.
Misori said that teachers previously in Job Groups J and K were converted to C2, while those in L went to C3. However, those in L who had responsibility were converted to C5, together with those in M and N, who had no responsibility in the schools.
Teachers who were serving as deputy principals were deployed at D1 and D2, depending on the category of their institution. Heads who were in M, N, and P were converted to grades D3 and D4 and substantially appointed as principals. Heads who were in Job Group Q and R were deployed to D5 as chief principals.
Misori told MPs that teachers in similar job groups but who were not heads were arbitrarily deployed as deputy principals under D1 and D2. He argued that many teachers found themselves trapped in the same salary scales with others who had been in lower job groups than them.
He said that they had also lost their cumulative years of service, which would start to count under the new system.
124,105 Teachers Stagnant in Same Job Group For 5 Years Without Promotion, KUPPET Reveals
