Teachers seconded from the primary schools to the Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) have called on the TSC, the Ministry of Education and Parliament to look at the matter of discrimination, the standstill in career progression and the problems that have arisen as a result of their deployment.
The teachers who spoke at the meeting (which was attended by officials of the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET))Â would like to be released from their present union arrangements so that they can join KUPPET.
They maintain that even though they are deployed to teach in the Junior Secondary Schools they still find it very difficult to access union representation and to enjoy the terms and conditions of service which would be applicable to teachers in the post-primary education sector.
To the gathering a union official said that over 20,000 teachers had been deployed by the government from the primary schools into the Junior Secondary Schools over the past three years.
He said the teachers were selected on the basis of meeting the requisite academic and professional qualifications (the minimum degree requirements, subject knowledge etc).
The official stated that Junior Secondary School teaching is a more complex and varied curriculum which requires specialist subject knowledge and appropriate professional preparation.
He also argued that teachers posted to the JSS should not be treated as just ordinary primary school teachers simply on the grounds of their previous employment or their membership of the union.
The teachers are now in the process of seeking immediate release from their former union in order to be able to join KUPPET. Their argument is that they have been left with no real union representation at all in the light of the new roles they now have.
They also want the TSC to formally recognise their transition and to ensure that they are in exactly the same position as other post-primary school teachers in terms of employment benefits, opportunities and protection.
Another big issue raised at the meeting was the restriction on transfers.
The teachers have been complaining that some of the deployed staff are required to do five years in their current posts before they’re eligible for a transfer and that they find that to be a bit of a discriminatory policy.
They said the deployment process had ripped families apart with some teachers working in counties very far from where their spouses and kids were.
The educators want the TSC to be the one to facilitate the transfers on the basis of subject combinations and staffing requirements rather than putting in place restrictions which make family reunification so difficult.
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Career progression was also a major issue. Teachers pointed to the fact that some of them had previously been in senior administrative positions (deputy headteacher, senior teacher etc) prior to being posted to the Junior Secondary Schools.
They said the move had seen the loss of leadership roles and opportunities for progression, so the experienced staff at that level were all effectively left behind.
Some of the teachers were also sceptical about the lack of a clear career progression pathway for JSS teachers and were urging the TSC to put in place a clear set of promotion criteria that would take into account their experience, their qualifications and their responsibilities.
The meeting also heard complaints regarding the delayed implementation of deployment decisions.
Some teachers apparently did receive their deployment letters in 2024 but remained in a state of flux for months as the requisite admin changes were not made.
Others said they’d been told to reapply for deployment in 2025 which in turn caused delays to their career progression and their employment benefits.
The teachers were demanding payment for 15 months which they said they had lost as a result of the repeated deployment of 22 teachers.
They warned that if it wasn’t addressed they would be forced to take legal action to secure their employment rights.
The teachers also raised the issue of what they described as double union deductions with a number of teachers apparently still having contributions being taken out to a previous union even after having requested to leave.
They were calling for the immediate correction of their payroll records, the termination of any unauthorised deductions and the repayment of any money that had already been deducted as a result of their requests to leave the union.
Beyond the employment issues, the educators were calling for greater autonomy for the Junior Secondary Schools and for teachers to have a distinct professional identity.
They were against the proposed comprehensive school model on the grounds that the views of the teachers who would be directly impacted by the education reforms had not been properly taken into account.
As the teachers point out, the prior consultations and stakeholder meetings have not given JSS teachers sufficient opportunity to put their case.
They were urging Parliament and the Ministry of Education to consider the establishment of a clear institutional framework which would recognise Junior Secondary School as a separate level of education.
The educators said the Constitution does recognise different levels of education (early childhood, primary, secondary and university) and that it was time for policy to clearly define the place of the Junior Secondary School within the education system.
They also raised concerns about the language used in staffrooms and in school administration with a number of teachers seconded to the JSS still experiencing the communication difficulties of the primary school setting.
They contended that post-primary education should be in the appropriate medium of instruction (either English or Kiswahili) in accordance with the relevant education policy.
The teachers have called on the Moe, TSC and Parliament to step in urgently and deal with the problems facing teachers in the Junior Secondary Schools.
They maintained that it was a government initiative to improve the education system and that it should not in any way constitute a professional disadvantage to the teachers.
The staff said they were still very much committed to their duties and expected the Government to protect their job security, to recognise their continuing professional development and to provide a clear framework for their representation and for their career progression.
