By Kiptoo Hildah
The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has threatened to move to court after the Teacher’s Service Commission (TSC) sacked 742 Junior Secondary school (JSS) teachers.
This follows after the JSS teachers went on strike from the 17th April to 1st June 2024 after signing of the return-to-work formulae.
Mr. Nthurima Moses, the KUPPET Secretary General termed the dismissal as unfair and unlawful.
“The dismissals go contrary to the rules of natural justice demanding that no one should be condemned unheard,” said the Secretary General.
“None of the teachers affected by this action were afforded an opportunity to defend themselves at a disciplinary hearing. The dismissals also negate the return-to-work formula that KUPPET negotiated with the Teachers Service Commission on behalf of the JSS teachers,” he added.
According to Moses, as per the agreed formula with the commission, teachers who resumed work on June 3, 2024, would not be punished.
However dismissal letters were issued o 6th June and were delivered to the teachers on 10th June.
The sacking was after the TSC termed the strike as professional misconduct.
During the strike, warnings were issued to the interns, and out of the 10,348 JSS interns, 9606 resumed their duties while the remaining 742 disregarded the warning, leading to their dismissals.
“KUPPET has spent months lobbying TSC and the National Assembly and we shall not sit back and watch TSC sacking teachers. We are asking them to consider their decision,” Mr. Nthurima said.
In the 2024/2025 financial year, the education sector has received a significant allocation of Ksh. 654 billion, with Ksh. 351billion allocated to the TSC and Ksh. 30.6billion allocated for the employment of the JSS teachers on permanent and pensionable terms.
Ndindi Nyoro, The Chairman of The National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee, revealed that the education sector will receive an additional Ksh. 18.7billion to boost the employment of the JSS teachers and enhance the education standard.
“TSC has condemned young teachers to joblessness. We want to condemn this unfortunate incident because TSC didn’t follow the right procedure,” Nthurima said.