This is Why I Posted One Teacher Per Junior Secondary School, Macharia
The Teachers service commission revealed why only one JSS teacher was employed per school, after the parliament put it on the spot on how sufficient it is to post one teacher for 12 subjects in Grade 7.
According to TSC CEO Nancy Macharia, some subjects have only one or two lessons per week and that’s one of the reasons why she had to employ only one teacher.
“If you check subject allocation, there’s a subject called life skills which has one lesson and another one called Health education which has two,” Macharia said.
Macharia was speaking when she appeared before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Education and Research.
Macharia said that it does not make sense to recruit a teacher for only one subject weekly in a school.
“We will get to a point of teacher sharing by schools like Alliance Boys and Alliance Girls so that their services are utilised optimally,” she added.
Read also:
Man Sues MOE Over NEMIS Ownership
We cannot Use Primary School Capitation to Run JSS, Heads React to Delay of JSS Funds
KESSHA: Students Should Be Allowed to Have Mobile Phones in Schools
VCs Pass 200% Fee Increment in Public Universities
KNUT and KUPPET Demand for a Review of CPG
This then means one teacher could teach more than one subject for Junior secondary.
The committee chair Julius Melly questioned how many teachers in primary schools qualify to teach JSS.
“What are you doing with the issue of Grade 7 teachers shortage as a Commission, because time is moving?” Melly asked.
Lugari MP Nabii Nabwera queried why the Commission settled on one teacher per classroom.
Nabwera noted that the Commission should submit its concerns after which the committee will guide them on matters teachers shortage.
“If provided with Sh7 billion which is the shortfall will that be enough to resolve the shortage in JSS which we have been asking about, for months?” Nabwera asked.
Igembe North MP Julius Taitum noted that the Commission should have a plan to replace the upgraded teachers in primary schools.
“Now that more than 10,000 have been upgraded to Junior secondary, will you replace the ones that have left?” Taitum posed.
Macharia added that 20,000 intern teachers will be hired to teach Grade 7 in July to deal with teacher shortage in the category.
Macharia said before end of this week, 10,000 will have reported to respective schools to teach Grade 7.
The upgraded teachers were to meet specific qualifications which include Diploma in Education, Bachelor’s Degree in Education and at least a C+ (plus) in KCSE or its equivalent.
They must also have attained a C+(plus) in the two teaching subjects at KCSE, or its equivalent, as well as eight units in each of the two teaching subjects was part of the requirement.
Macharia told Parliament that the 7,282 teachers were distributed to different counties based on the number of classes.
About 30,550 primary school teachers were distributed to teach Grade 7 pupils across the country.
