Kenya Women Teachers Association (KEWOTA), has urged TSC to revert to automatic teacher promotion as a way of motivating teachers.

Giving her proposals for an evaluation of the systems for promoting teachers, KEWOTA CEO Benter Opande maintained that Many teachers have raised complaints in regards to the qualification criteria used for the promotion.

Further, she added that Teachers play a vital role in shaping the future of a country by nurturing the young minds of the nation. However, teaching has often been considered a thankless job, with little appreciation and recognition for the hard work and dedication that goes into it.

“One solution to this problem could be to implement automatic teacher promotion as a reward for excellence in teaching. Automatic teacher promotion would involve creating a system that promotes teachers based on their years of service and their performance evaluations in the classroom. This system would be designed to motivate and reward teachers for their hard work and dedication to their profession and eliminate the need for teachers to go through a cumbersome promotion process that can be biased, unfair and frustrating,” said Opande.

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This could be done by setting specific criteria for what constitutes excellence in teaching, such as student achievement, feedback from colleagues and students, and professional development activities.

When a teacher meets these criteria, they would be automatically promoted to the next level in the teaching profession. This would give teachers a clear path for advancement and provide them with tangible rewards for their hard work and dedication. The teaching profession in Kenya has faced numerous challenges in recent years. These challenges have contributed to low morale among teachers and have made it difficult to attract and retain the best talent in the profession. In my view, automatic teacher promotion would be a way to address some of these challenges and provide incentives for teachers to stay in the profession.

Of course, there are challenges to implementing automatic teacher promotion. For example ensuring that the criteria for promotion is fair and objective. There would need to be a system in place to measure teacher performance accurately and to ensure that teachers are promoted based on merit, rather than favoritism.

This will ensure promotion is based on merit and that teachers are motivated to continue to improve their skills and performance.

Despite these challenges, the benefits of implementing automatic teacher promotion in Kenya are clear. By rewarding excellence in teaching, the education system would be able to attract and retain the best teachers, leading to better outcomes for students. It would also help to improve the status and reputation of the teaching profession, making it a more attractive career option for young people.

Above all, automatic teacher promotion would recognize the importance of experience in teaching. Experienced teachers have a wealth of knowledge and skills that can be passed on to their students. By promoting teachers based on their years of service, the system encourages teachers to stay in the profession and continue to develop their skills over time.

This can be a motivating factor for teachers, as they can see the rewards of their hard work and dedication. It can also help to retain teachers who may have otherwise left the profession due to a lack of opportunities for advancement.

Thirdly, it would improve the quality of education that students receive. Teachers who are motivated and committed to their work are more likely to be effective in the classroom. By rewarding excellence in teaching, the education system in Kenya would be able to attract and retain the best teachers, leading to better outcomes for students.

Automatic teacher promotion could be an effective way to reward excellence in teaching and improve the quality of education in Kenya. By setting clear criteria for promotion and ensuring that the system is fair and sustainable, Kenya could create a more motivated and effective teaching workforce, leading to better outcomes for students and a brighter future for the country.

Kenya secondary school heads association (KESSHA) chairperson Indimuli Kahi has elicited a controversial debate over access to mobile phones by students.

According to Kahi, the changing trends in the digital economy should allow students to have mobile phones in schools.

“I always say this and I am always bashed but the truth is that technology is the way to go, and it should apply even to our education,” Kahi said.

However, the chief principal said the access to the phones should be well-guarded by teachers.

“Time has come when we need to think again on policies of use of mobile phones in schools by our students,” Kahi said.

Indimuli was speaking over the weekend during an event organized by Kewota to empower female teachers to access digital products and insurance coverage.

During the event, Kewota announced a major plan to empower its members to own laptops at affordable prices, launched a medical plan and also unveiled soft loans initiative for all registered members.

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Kahi explained that for instance, during the Covid 19 pandemic, most classes were being taken online.

Students would log in to classes, either using their own, or their parents’ laptops and mobile phones.

“During Covid, schools were closed students were always on digital platforms, but immediately we opened school we banned phones,” he said.

But Kahi says the ministry of education should consider introducing gadgets which will have guarded sites.

This will allow students to access only educational sites and approved content.

“Time has come for gadgets to be used in school by students. So that anytime we have educational shock we don’t close learning. We can close schools but learning continues,” he said.

More than 70,000 teachers are will benefit from a partnership between Kenya Women Teachers Association (Kewota) and the Estonian government, which targets to provide laptops.

This latest move aims at equipping the teachers with digital skills to teach and carry out other activities online.

Kewota CEO Benta Opande has maintained that the beneficiaries will have exclusive access to digital textbooks.

According to Opande, Kewota has collaborated with the Estonian ambassador Kadri Humal Ayal has managed to get the copyright for 101 digital textbooks which will be used for piloting.

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“Digitisation of books is at the centre of this programme because teachers will be able to access all the books recommended by Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development in one platform for all the classes. The challenge of shortage of Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC) books will be addressed,” said Opande.

The digital platform referred to as Opiq will have all books from Grade 1 to Form Four with graphics, images, audio and video illustrations for interactive learning. The audio provision is meant to enable teachers with visual impairments to teach.

“A teacher will not have to carry textbooks and if the government will bring back the laptop project for learners, there will be no need for chalks and hardcopy books. It will be laptop to laptop and that is the way to go,” noted Opande.

The programme which will be launched on February 25, will allow interested teachers to apply for a laptop online through a USSD code by giving their details including Teachers Service Commission (TSC) details. Applicants must be registered by the commission and be Kewota members.

For a start, Opande said they had purchased pre-financed 20,000 laptops. “Once a teacher sends the application, we take their details to TSC to deduct from their payroll on a monthly basis. Those who are not on the TSC payroll will be allowed to pay through mobile money,” she explained.

Opande added that members of the association who apply for the laptop will be paying between Sh1,900 and Sh2,800 for three years through TSC check-offs. The cost of laptops differs depending on the available features and type of laptops.

“We have different categories for primary and secondary school teachers and the features differ as education advances,” said Opande.

The laptops will have provision for solar power to cater for teachers in far-flung areas without power connectivity.

With the laptops, teachers will be able to access the TSC online services as well as sell and buy products through the e-commerce platform.

The Teacher Professional Development Programme (TPDP) is among the services teachers will be able to access through the digital platform. TSC introduced the programme through universities to allow teachers to undertake courses to earn promotions.

The Kenya Women Teachers Association (Kewota) has asked the government to establish breastfeeding centres within schools, which would bring lactating teachers closer to their babies for a health growth.

According to KEWOTA, a law was passed in 2016 compelling the government to build the facilities in all public institutions but public schools are still not compliant.

An observation by Kewota CEO Benta Opande found that female teachers, especially those having babies, are forced to go home often during school days to breastfeed. This subjects them to spending a lot of time and money.

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“We want to support the young female teachers who have young ones and feel the need to go home and breastfeed them. When the child is near the teacher, the teacher is more productive and quality education is enhanced,” Ms Opande said.

Opande was speaking at St Mark’s Teachers Training College in Kigari, Embu County during the closing ceremony of 2022 inter-collegiate athletics championships.

Opande also made a proposal that the Ministry of Education starts a sporting event for teachers from the grassroots to the national level in order to boost cohesion and their mental health.

“We read in the news even about teachers committing suicide. We want the ministry to get involved and address the issue of mental health because it is real and it cannot be ignored,” said Ms Opande.

The director-general of the State Department of Early Learning and Basic Education Elyas Abdi expressed concern over increased cases of teachers who are molesting learners and called on the tutors to uphold integrity.

“When parents and the society trust you with their children, respect that trust as expected. We are getting reports that there are teachers out there who mishandle young students and it is unacceptable in our society,” he said.

The fate of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for teachers now hangs in balance after treasury advisory to Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) said that only 10 per cent will be available for proposed pay review for civil servants and teachers.

The advisory has dealt serious a blow to teachers who have been waiting anxiously for the approval of the new 2021-2025 CBA.The National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani has committed that only 10 per cent, which totals to around Sh8 billion is available for the review.

It is however not clear whether the amount will only be for the next 2021-22 Financial Year or it will cover the four-year circle as it is usually the case in the CBA. SRC had requested the money from treasury to harmonize workers’ pay and to effect new salary increments in the new CBA for teachers once the job evaluation was completed.

The current CBA is expected to end on June 30, giving way to the next four-year cycle of remuneration based on job evaluations,but this now seems to hang in the balance as details show that the government will not make funds available.

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The information has been received with mixed reactions from the union officials for teachers with some terming it unfair way to treat teachers.

Vihiga Executive Secretary of Kenya National Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) who spoke to Education News on phone recently stated that the information greatly shocked teachers.

“As KUPPET Vihiga, that information was received with a lot of shock because teachers are aware that the CBA we have been using has come to an end and expecting another one in July for the next four years.” Inyeni added that they will only listen to their employer which is Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and not the result of report filed by Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) about their pay rise after job evaluation. “We expect that the basis of our engagement should be documents coming from SRC and counter proposal from TSC because our national office had already given our proposal for the pay rise, but any other information coming in from what we are going to call third parties is not something we are going to ask our members to look into because it is not pertaining to us,”added Inyeni.

The same was echoed by his Narok Counterpart, Charles Ng’eno.“What teachers are doing for this country is such a big sacrificeand the government should not be telling us that it doesn’t have money, what is happening currently is that there is a lot of misuse of public resources,” said Ng’eno.

Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET) Secretary General, James Torome said they have not sat with their employer TSC to get a counter offer since they have already submitted their proposal as required by law.

“At this juncture, we are still waiting for the employer to call us and give a counter offer because we already submitted our demands, so any other information coming from any other quarters, we do not recognize it,” said Torome.

Torome added that the information that they will recognize is what will come from SRC to their employer, who will call them and give them the counter offer and share what will be available.

Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Deputy Secretary General, Hesbon Otieno said that the government should not say that there is no money for CBA adding that CBA is not all about money.

“If the economy is not good and there is no money,then what is it they are offering so that people can discuss? You cannot say that we have no money for CBA. CBA is notabout money, it has a lot of things with very many o t h e r components,” said Otieno.

Kenya Women Teachers Association (KEWOTA) Chief Executive Officer , Benta Opande stated that the Treasury is usurping the powers of Teachers Service Commission (TSC).

“What treasury is doing is simply usurping the powers of TSC in the case of teachers. This is very unconstitutional as TSC is an independent entity,” said Opande.

TSC had previously hinted a possible pay rise for teachers in July 2021, after the employer stated

that it is in final CBA negotiation with SRC hence assuring teachers’ unions that salary talks would com-

mence immediately SRC gets the award from the Treasury to define how the negotiation will be.

In the new CBA deposited at the SRC and which was to take effect from July 2021, the TSC had proposed a minimum of 16 per cent increment in basic salary for teachers and a maximum of 32 per cent.

Classroom teachers, who were underpaid under the present CBA,will be most hit as they were expected to be the greatest beneficiaries in the next phase of salary reviews. Next.