KNUT official says teachers also require terminal leave before retirement

Murang’a,

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

KNA by Purity Mugo

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) wants teachers to be given a six-month terminal leave prior to their retirement to help them adjust to life outside the classroom.

KNUT Assistant National Treasurer Kennedy Nyamwanda said the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) only issues a one-year notice before a teacher retires and does not follow up and this has been causing an existential crisis to a majority of the retirees.

"People in the other professions get terminal leave but the teachers are expected to be in class to the last day and then go home which is unfair to them," he said, noting that this has been causing mental distress to these teachers because they had not been prepared for the lifestyle change.

He observed that the sudden change of routine coupled with the fact that teachers often have to wait for longer periods of time before they receive their retirement benefits makes it harder for them to transit into retirement.

"TSC should ensure the retirement benefits are ready and are given to the teachers as soon as possible," the official said.

KNUT also wants the Ministry of Education to upgrade the digital platform which is used for capturing student’ information.

The union said the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) is not very effective and it is causing challenges in the education sector.

According to Nyamwanda, the system does not capture all the data fed into it by the teachers and as a result a large percentage of information is left out which directly affects the funds being sent to the schools pointing out that the system sometimes captures below 50 percent of the learner data.

 "In some cases you may find a school with 600 students and only 280 are captured in the NEMIS system and the government sends funds for only the number captured." He said adding that many head teachers are struggling with the deficit of funds because the government insists on giving money based on the data in the system.

Nyamwanda urged the cabinet secretary for education Ezekiel Machogu to ensure this issue is addressed promptly so as to facilitate smooth running of schools.

He also called for timely release of the funds to the schools pointing out that the delays affect and compromise on the quality of education.

"The new curriculum is more practical than theory and this requires a lot of resources which the teachers are not able to provide because of shortage of funds," he remarked.

The official noted that education must be prioritized, however, good results can only be achieved if all the learning materials are available.

Courtesy; KNA