CBC Crisis Over 3-Months JSS Teachers Salary Delay
The implementation of Kenya’s Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) is facing a crisis, as the inaugural cohort of Junior Secondary School (JSS) tutors claim they have not received their three-month salaries since the 2023 academic calendar began.
The crisis has prompted education stakeholders to call on the Ministry of Education to intervene in the situation, as the first term comes to an end. Despite the Teachers Service Commission’s (TSC) absorption of 36,000 tutors into the project to curb the shortage, some critics argue that the phase still faces numerous challenges for successful implementation.
Education expert Ken Echesa has noted that the 36,000 teachers were sent not only to JSS, but also to primary and high schools, making the impact of their deployment less significant. He also noted that grades 7 and 8 were supposed to be taught 14 units, but most schools had only two tutors posted.
He stated that about 70% of the deployed teachers were humanities teachers, who teach subjects such as history, religion, geography, and Kiswahili, making them unable to teach integrated science subjects such as chemistry, physics, and biology. As a result, many students have gone a full term without being introduced to integrated science subjects.
The crisis arose after the Ministry of Education released a statement on April 14, 2023, indicating that it had released Free Secondary Education (FSE) funds for JSS.
All heads of institutions were instructed to acknowledge receipt of funds by issuing official school receipts to the Principal Secretary, State Department for Basic Education for both Tuition and Operation Accounts. Schools that did not acknowledge the funds within two weeks would be suspended from the funds’ programme.
According to the statement, JSS may not enter into financial contracts, including hire purchase and bank loans, without the express written approval of the Cabinet Secretary in line with Section 18 of the Fourth Schedule of the Basic Education Act, 2013.
The head of each institution is responsible for the application and utilization of funds as the Accounting Officer of the school.
CBC Crisis Over 3-Months JSS Teachers Salary Delay
