The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Taita Taveta branch took to the streets to protest the new directives given by the Teachers Commission to undertake fresher courses after every 5 years.
The KUPPET officials termed the move fraudulent other than helping and empowering teachers.
Speaking on Monday in Voi town, the Executive Secretary of the union in the region Mr. Shedrack Mutungi said that the move had no basis in law and that teachers would oppose it.
According to Mutungi, the fresher courses did not undergo any public participation as required by the constitution. Additionally, the cost of every module of the courses would be borne by the employers .
“This is a fraudulent financial move by TSC. They are only interested in making money from teachers and this proposal will be opposed in its entirety,” he said.
This comes barely a week after the TSC unveiled the Teachers Professional Development (TPD) as a mandatory retraining program for teachers in public schools that would see educators renew their professional certificates after every five years.
However, Dr. Nancy Macharia said the move was in line with teaching objectives and that the retraining would enhance teachers’ capacities including allowing them to keep abreast of emerging trends in academic fields. Several Universities have been accredited to do the training
However, the Union officials in the Coast region said that the program was punitive and exploitive since it did not put into consideration the age an social welfare of teachers wondering how old teachers would go back to school.
“We have teachers with Masters and others with PhD. We have been adding to our skills all along but TSC wants us to take some courses that are of lesser value than what we already have,” said Mr Nyambuto Edwin, who further demanded an apology to teachers from the union for terming them semiprofessional .
“We are properly trained and fully certified professionals. Calling us semi-trained is an affront to our skills,” he added.
Ms. Halima Abdalla the Unions Secretary argued that TSC had failed to take into consideration the family aspect of the teaching profession. She stated that taking teachers to school will lead to family problem because after school the little time they get is dedicated to their families.
“With teaching and us going back to school, there will be little time dedicated for family. We are staring at the erosion of family values and institutions,” she said.
