Learning in Public schools could be interrupted following a strike threat by teachers’ unions over mass transfer of school heads by their employer, Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
A total of 557 school heads are recipients of the mass transfers by TSC.
On Tuesday, Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) said TSC irrationally issued transfer letters to school heads without proper consultations.
KNUT Secretary General Wilson Sossion warned that if TSC does not rescind the move, there will be no learning on January 2, school reporting date.
“The Ministry of Education and TSC have remained unilateral in initiating new ideas with total disregard to effects on the general public and other cardinal players in the sector, including teachers,” lamented Sossion as reported by the Star.
“We totally oppose the unilateral decision to transfer 557 principals as we consider the idea ill-conceived and suspect the plotters do not mean well,” he added.
Sossion asked those affected and are members of KNUT to ignore the directive by TSC until a proper agreement is reached upon by the union and their employer.
He said that such a move was likely to deal a blow to learning standards in the schools which could culminate to poor performance.
Sossion said the transfers have been perceived as punishment to “hardworking and successful teachers”.
KNUT also called for immediate removal of recently introduced mandatory appraisal for teachers by TSC. He noted that its effect on learning would have no much gains.
“It is our position that the appraisals development and contracting shall not apply in 2018. It is laborious, tedious, time-consuming and adds no value to teaching. Teachers of Kenya have rejected it so it shall not apply in 2018.”
Sossion also wants TSC to acknowledge and reward teachers who have attained higher qualifications “because they have been abused for far too long by the employer.”