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A teachers’ union yesterday vowed to boycott a crucial meeting called today to discuss proposed controversial amendments to the Teachers Service Commission Act.4

At a press conference, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) said it will not participate in the stakeholders meeting called to discuss far reaching amendments to the law creating the teachers’ employer.

KNUT Secretary General, Collins Oyuu said yesterday he has written to TSC for a special engagement with the Commission within seven days as senior stakeholders, to give their contribution on the draft.

According to Oyuu, the union only received a letter from TSC on January 31, inviting them to the stakeholder’s engagement forum to be held at Kenya School of Government (KSG), which they described as insufficient time for them to participate.

“We know that the Commission spent quality time on developing proposals for amendments, why should Knut, a central stakeholder, only take two days?” posed Oyuu, at a press conference held in Nairobi.

“We wish to categorically state that we are not attending the stakeholders meeting on Wednesday, February 6 at KSG. We are not coming and we are not blinking, our teachers are never blaming us anymore, they are very keen,” affirmed Oyuu.

He said that most of the draft in its current form is punitive to teachers even as he stated that the union’s leadership is not ready to be scolded again.

Some of the areas they pointed out is that TSC proposes determining remuneration of teachers without involving the unions and wondered why Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) exist.

They also said that the new staffing norms proposed are not clear and this could be an avenue to re-introduce delocalisation as a policy through the back door.

Also, their concern is the proposal to have basic education start from primary to junior and senior school.
Oyuu, however, said that the presidential working party report is clear on basic education, which should run from Pre-Primary 1 to Grade 9, also known as comprehensive school.

Oyuu also said TSC proposes disciplining teachers without being bound by strict rules of evidence as envisioned by Article 50 of the Constitution on fair hearing. He said that TSC has been disciplining teachers by hearing the appeals and thereafter making it upon themselves but the union states that there is need to have a joint KNUT/TSC review committee to identify cases that deserve to be evaluated.

“A teacher is for example accused of carnal knowledge and sometimes fixed then proves this in a court and the teacher is acquitted and freed but remains under interdiction and dismissal from TSC. These are the areas that we thought would be amended to allow proper evidence,” he stated.

He also said there should be an independent tribunal led by an independent judge so that matters are looked into in a neutral position unlike the current situation where TSC interdicts, hears the case, dismisses and when a teacher appeals the people listening are the same team that handled the matter initially.

The Secretary General also said that TSC is silent on pension, which is one of the biggest problems facing teachers.

He said teachers expected their employer to streamline pension management and make it a department within the commission, noting that in the current format, it is very lengthy and some of them end up not benefitting at all.

Another issue they raised is a proposal by TSC to collect data from all sources and manage it by their own rules, which he said is in violation of the Data Protection Act, 2019 and the Constitution.

“We are reminding TSC that Knut played the biggest role in the formation of the Commission as a single employer of teachers in Kenya so by and large, TSC was borne out of Knut. For the 2010 Constitution, the role of KNUT in making sure that TSC remains a constitutional commission is known by all and sundry. So we do not expect TSC to take us for a ride and we will not accept it,” he stated.

“KNUT is not the public on matter of teachers, we are stakeholders so anything bordering any change, Knut must be involved fully and we cannot be subjected to a draft and expect us to give views,” Oyuu further affirmed.