TSC confirms 46,000 JSS teachers on permanent and pensionable terms
MOSETI JULIUS-KNA
The Teachers Service Commission has confirmed 46,000 Junior Secondary School teachers on a permanent and pensionable basis.
Speaking at the official opening of Grade 9 classrooms at Ober Boys Boarding Comprehensive School in Rachuonyo Sub-County, Homa Bay County, Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Migos Ogamba stated that the confirmation is one of the promises he made to the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT).
“We will also add another 20,000 teachers in JSS to ensure we have sufficient staff so that our students receive the best education,” he said, appreciating the efforts of all stakeholders.
He also outlined the government’s readiness to achieve a seamless rollout of Grade 9 next year and addressed concerns about domiciling Junior Secondary School (JSS) in primary schools.
He mentioned that books for Grade 9 have been prepared and are being distributed. “We agreed with the headteachers that they will remain in the schools until December 15 when all the books will have arrived. If you have not received them yet, they are on the way,” he said.
Ober Boys Boarding Comprehensive School in Rachuonyo Sub-County, Homa-Bay County was built at cost Sh4 million funded by Kenya Primary Education Equity in Learning (KPEEL) programme of the World Bank in conjunction with the Government of Kenya.
The school has a student population of 781 with those transitioning to Grade 9 being 241 according to Head Teacher, Mr Bernard Juma.
The CS, who was engaged in a back to back commissioning of Grade 9 classrooms in Nyanza region, said the classrooms he launched are complete, despite what he termed as backlash that they had not been finished.
“This is a complete project that you can see with your own eyes, that it is well done, it is completed, nothing is left unattended to including the blackboard is already inside,” he said.
The CS said the Ministry of Education is working together with all stakeholders, saying by working together, it can face the challenges in the Education Sector and solve them.
“You support me, I will give you support to work together to solve the challenges that we have,” he said. Apart from the construction of classrooms and provision of text books, the CS said next year MOE has a program of building laboratories.
On the domiciling of junior secondary school in primary level, the CS said it is not something that was decided in a boardroom.
“The Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) went round the country and it is something that members of the public participated in,” he said.
The CS said after JSS was domiciled in the primary schools it became necessary that MOE conducts an assessment.
“We needed to confirm that we needed at least 16,000 classrooms to be able to transition to Grade 8 and 9,” he said.
The second issue was an assessment of the cost of each classroom and devolved resources.