Direct And Indirect: TSC's New Criteria For Teachers' Promotion Causes Jitters, Confusion

• President William Ruto has promised to promote 5,000 teachers directly and 36,000 indirectly
• The announcement has been met with mixed reactions from teachers, with some expressing concerns about the mode of promotion
• Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has called for more clarity on the promotion plan

Nairobi - On Wednesday, August 23, President William Ruto promised to promote 5,000 teachers directly and 36,000 indirectly.

Direct and Indirect promotion of teachers

President Ruto also disclosed a plan with the Teachers Service Commission to motivate teachers in different cadres in the country.

"We have worked with the TSC so that we can incentivise our teachers to bring out their best by making sure that teachers who do well will be promoted."

"This year, we have provided for the promotion of 5,000 teachers directly, and 36,000 teachers will be promoted indirectly. We have provided a billion shillings that will go in that direction," Ruto said.

His comments surprised a section of teachers who wondered what mode of promotion the head of state was talking about.

No promotion without upward salary review

Speaking on TV47's Matukio, Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Deputy Secretary General Hesbon Otieno explained that any promotion without a salary increase is not a promotion.

"All promotions must come with some salary increase. I have heard others say that promotion means being made a senior teacher from a class teacher or a senior teacher to a deputy headteacher, and the salary remains the same. That is not a promotion. It is being given extra work and being used like a donkey," Otieno opined.

Reached for comment, Otieno said he needs to be educated on the direct and indirect promotion model because the role is purely a human resource and collective bargaining issue.

"We know about promotions as a Human Resource and collective bargaining issue, and there are several ways of considering one for promotion, i.e. merit, experience, performance, and attainment of higher qualifications. I don't know how to qualify them as direct or indirect. The impact of promotions can only be felt when it reflects on improvement in remuneration. They two are synonymous," he explained.

Promotion in hard-to-staff areas

Otieno told TUKO.co.ke that teachers have been promoted without commensurate compensation, especially in the hard-to-staff areas.

"When teachers are given positions of responsibility as a way of recognition without being compensated for the same, it is enslavement since there is added responsibility not commensurate to what they should earn for that. E.g. when one is deployed as a headteacher instead of being substantively appointed to that position. This happens in the hard-to-staff areas," he said.

Asked about the status of the promotion of teachers across the country, the KNUT secretary general said over 100,000 teachers had stagnated at the same level for a long time.

"The teachers affected by stagnation in one grade for a long time belong to job groups C1, C2 and C3. The number is over 100, 000. The reason behind this is the discriminatory Career Progression Guideline, which needs to be reviewed," he stated.

He also clarified that the government has no direct role in deployment, so all the issues are under the commission's docket.

Gov't allocates KSh 4.8b to hire 20k intern teachers

The 2023-2024 budget increased funding in the education sector, hitting a new milestone.

To improve the educational outcomes in the country, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung'u has proposed to the National Assembly to effect the budget allocation of KSh 628.6 billion to the education sector.

Out of the proposed allocation, Njuguna said KSh 12.5 billion will cater for free primary education and KSh 65.4 billion for free day secondary school education, including insurance and National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) for secondary school students.

Njuguna said KSh 25.5 billion will go towards junior secondary school capitation, while KSh 5 billion will support examination fee waiver and KSh 4.8 billion for the recruitment of 20,000 intern teachers.