Machogu Addresses JSS Teacher Shortage as New Challenges Emerge
The Education Cabinet Secretary, Ezekiel Machogu, has sought to calm the fears of junior secondary school heads worried about the delay in the deployment of Grade Seven teachers.
In a press conference held in Nairobi on February 6, Machogu assured the public that the government had hired enough teachers who were in the process of reporting to their schools.
According to Machogu, 36,000 teachers had been hired and would be reporting to their schools this week or latest by next week.
9,000 permanently employed teachers will be sent to secondary schools, with a total of 30,000 teachers being sent to both primary and secondary schools by the Teachers Service Commission.
However, the heads of the junior secondary schools (JSSs) who had received teachers claimed that the number did not match the demands of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
One headteacher, Abed Maseno, expressed gratitude for the two teachers received from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) but added that for the remaining subjects, teachers from the school would have to be utilized.
In addition to the concerns about the number of teachers, the heads of JSSs also raised concerns about access to textbooks for the Grade Seven class.
According to Samuel Waweru, the headteacher of Maryjoy JSS, they had searched for the books but had not been able to find them, and when they sought alternatives, they were told that the books had not been approved by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).
Private schools, on the other hand, have had no difficulties in learning. However, the Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA) Chair, Charles Ochomo, stated that they also had their own challenges, including the retooling of teachers since CBC is a new development.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) had earlier called on the TSC to hasten the deployment of teachers to avoid time wastage.
Despite this, there have been concerns over a low turnout of students in JSSs, with the leading cause being the inability to pay school fees.
Finally, CS Machogu acknowledged that the government was yet to release the capitation of Ksh15,000 per student to schools pending final data on enrolment numbers.
Machogu Addresses JSS Teacher Shortage as New Challenges Emerge
