Union official urges State to heed grievances by schools’ heads on reduced capitation

Jul 8, 2024 - 17:48

Junior Secondary Schools teachers in Nyeri County stage demonstrations in Nyeri town on Monday May 13,2024 in their push to have the government hire them on a permanent and pensionable basis. Nyeri Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers(Kuppet) executive secretary Francis Wanjohi says they are watching keen an announcement by Government to hire all the 46,000 JSS intern teachers on permanent terms. (File Photo)

Nyeri,

Monday 8 July 2024

KNA by Samuel Maina

Nyeri County Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) executive secretary Mr Francis Wanjohi has appealed to the Government to address concerns of Principals over reduction of school capitation.

Wanjohi warns that the reduction of the vote by the State would impact the running of key school programs at a time the cost of living has hit an all-time high.

“If the Government is saying the schools should not increase fees, they (government) should give the solution of where they (Principals) would get that deficit of Sh5,000 because they are given Sh17,000 instead of Sh22, 000.With the current inflation Sh22,000 is not even enough, “he has told KNA.

Education CS Dr Ezekiel Machogu has already cautioned school heads against increasing fees and ordered the tutors to comply with the Ministry’s regulations, which explicitly forbid the collection of unapproved fees.

“Principals will have to be content with the Sh17,000 capitation we have been disbursing. It will not be possible to disburse Sh22,000 capitation per year per learner,” said Machogu last month.

But even as the Government is discouraging schools from increasing charges, schools are complaining the reduction in capitation will hamper their activities leaving them with no option but to hike fees.

The principals have already threatened to start charging students Sh69,000 up from the current Sh53,000 in order to plunge the deficit.

Among reasons they have cited include the worsening economic situation in the current which has led to skyrocketing of basic items on the market.

“There was a time we had asked the state to raise school fees. By then we wanted it to be raised to Sh69,000. The ministry (Education) has our fee increment proposal. The whole concept of school fees and capitation should be relooked at,” said Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (Kessha) chair Willy Kuria during the Kessha conference in Mombasa last month.

“This means what was available in 2008 is still what we are getting despite the inflation, “he lamented.

Meanwhile Wanjohi says the Kuppet has taken note by the Treasury to allow the Teachers Service Commission (JSS) to convert the employment of 46,000 Junior Secondary School (JSS) intern teachers from contract to permanent and pensionable terms.

He says while the move is commendable, it remains to be seen whether TSS would live to the promise.

Treasury has given the nod for the allocation of Sh18.9 billion for hiring of all JSS teachers on pensionable terms, another Sh3.7 billion will go for absorption of medical interns while sh. 1.8 billion will be channeled to the school feeding program.

“Let us wait and see. Otherwise it is a welcome decision to employ all (JSS teachers) of them. We cannot comment much on this until we see this happening,” he has pointed out.

The JSS interns took over the running of Grade 7 learners after the final batch of class eight candidates sat for their national examinations in November last year bringing down curtains for the 8-4-4 education system that had been around since 1985.

The teachers however boycotted classes in May and vowed to remain put until the TSC converted their contracts of employment into permanent and pensionable terms.

Initially the teachers were to be confirmed in January 2025 according to an earlier communication from the TSC.

On April 17 this year Justice Bryrum Ongaya of the Employment and Labour Relations had ruled that TSC violated the intern teachers' right to fair labour practice as they are qualified and possess teaching licenses.

“The respondents have not exhibited statutory regulatory or policy arrangements that would entitle the first respondent (TSC) to employ interns,” Ongaya said during the ruling.

“Ideally, the first respondent should employ registered teachers on terms that are not discriminatory and to meet the optimal staffing needs in public schools,” the ruling said.

The ruling was issued after the Forum for Good Governance and Human Rights took TSC to court challenging the teachers’ employer over the Teacher Internship Programme.

The internship programme was launched in 2019 in an arrangement where those employed to teach JSS learners were to be paid sh20, 000 while their primary counterparts were to receive sh.15, 000 exclusive of statutory deductions.

Courtesy; KNA