Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has asked Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to take stern disciplinary action on teachers who boycott or disrupt ongoing new competency based curriculum trainings.
Magoha said the ongoing trainings meant to equip tutors with necessary skills to teach the new curriculum is unstoppable.
Speaking at the Ronald Ngala primary school in Mombasa during the second day of the training, the CS told off Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Wilson Sossion over his calls for teachers to boycott the trainings.
Sossion, is opposed to the implementation of the new curriculum and has urged teachers to boycott the four-day training. However, the exercise seem to be going on smoothly in many parts of the country.
Magoha said the training were disrupted in few centres in Kakamega, Kitui, Makueni and Kwale on Tuesday.
He spoke as three Knut officials in Kibwezi were charged with disrupting the training. The trio Gabriek Kisilu (Kibwezi branch secretary), Miriam Mwania (treasurer) and Henry Kivuva denied the charges and were freed on Sh 20,000 cash bail each or Sh100,000 bond by a Makindu court.
Kibwezi Sub County Police Commader Ben Changulo said the suspects, who were arrested on Tuesday, led a team of junior Knut officials to the Isunguluni Primary School where they disrupted the training.
“The few hiccups issues that we had in Kakamega Kitui, Makueni and Kwale are not statistically significant. There is no one who is above the law including me, but if you choose to disobey the law, then it is not me to decide, the law will take it coarse,” the CS warned.
Magoha said he is not interested in side show with Sossion adding that no teachers has been forced to attend the trainings thus no one will be allowed to distract them. He said government has invested a lot of resources on the training and so far it has achieved almost 100 percent success.
“The training is very close to 100 percent success, no teacher has been forced to come for this training, then no one can stop them from learning,” Magoha said.
The CS asked those opposed to the implementation of the new curriculum to ‘keep off and stop making unnecessary noise”, adding that several teachers have been arrested while trying to disrupt the trainings. He said those arrested will be arraigned in court and also face TSC disciplinary actions.
“The constitution allows us to give each other a space, you don’t close the space and say now you get out. In regard to disciplinary actions, that squarely on Teachers Service Commission,” he added.
He called on those who intending to boycott the training to stop wasting their time and instead come up with suggestions on alternative and rational ways of carrying out the training.
The government has allocated Sh 500 million to train 91,320 teachers on the new curriculum.
There are claims that some primary school teachers could be promoted to teach in secondary schools under the new curriculum and this could be the reason why Knut is opposed to it as it fear losing members to rival Kuppet.
Reports says that Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development wants class seven and eight teachers allowed to teach in secondary schools because the primary school cycle will be shortened to six years.
TSC has decentralized its Discipline Division with its Field Officers, County Director and School Board of Management (BOM) being given powers to discipline errant teachers.
According to a circular No.26/2016 on Guidelines for Management of Discipline of Teachers BOM or TSC can interdict without inviting the teacher for preliminary hearing. Hearing and determination of such cases will either be at the TSC County Office or TSC Headquarters depending on the nature of allegations and as per the policy guidelines in force.