Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Wilson Sossion addressing the press in Eldoret town on Saturday, October 14, 2017.[Photo: Elvanis Ronoh]
Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Wilson Sossion has urged the Teachers Service commission (TSC) to employ more teachers.
He said the country was experiencing a huge shortage of teachers leading to poor performance.
"We are calling upon TSC to at least hire 20,000 teachers annually instead of 10,000 and in a span of five years we will have enough teachers. The current is uncalled for and something needs to be done," he said in Eldoret town, Saturday.
"Quality education will only be offered if we have enough teachers. Currently one teacher serves over 40 students instead of one teacher teaching 25 students," he added.
He reiterated that KNUT will not allow TSC to employ teachers on a contractual basis.
"We want all teachers to be employed on a permanent and pensionable terms for them to enjoy all the benefits given to Civil servants," noted Sossion.
On the new curriculum Sossion said KNUT will not accept rushed review programs that will bring more harm than good to students.
"We must be convinced that it will work and if we are not convinced we will boycott. We want the outcome of the pilot project be subjected to wide consultation before being rolled out," he said.
He revealed that the new curriculum was tried in South Africa and Malaysia but due to lack of proper preparation it failed badly.
He, however, warned TSC against posting teachers outside their home counties since it affects their family and performance of teachers.