Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Chairman Omboko Milemba asked the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to provide clear data on the number of teachers who have stagnated in the same job groups for years.
Speaking during an interview with KTN News, on Monday, January 2, Milemba advanced that TSC's position regarding the stagnation of teachers was contradictory to the commission's own data.
According to him, over 1,000 teachers due for promotion had been in the same job groups - with some having waited for 15 years without yield.
"The truth is that teachers have stagnated in the same job group, some for as long as 15 years and 14 years, and nine which is the most common.
"TSC must be having better data than myself because it is the employer of teachers and they should speak on this correctly. This is more than 1,800 teachers who have stagnated in the same job group," Milemba stated.
His stance was corroborated by the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Collins Oyuu who challenged TSC to avail the actual number of teachers due for promotion.
"Quite a number of teachers have stagnated in one job group. TSC says that it is the career progression guidelines that have made these teachers stagnate in those job groups but we are saying they have to be promoted," Oyuu demanded.
In addition, the trade union leaders called upon TSC to review the compensation owed to the affected teachers over the years.
In their unison call, the two leaders highlighted the plight of teachers who served as headteachers, heads of departments and deputy headteachers in acting capacities and called for their apt compensation.
"The pending bills which involve the labour that teachers have supplied to the government and has not been quantified through stagnation through acting as deputies, HoDs, and Principals without pay is over Ksh2 billion," the KUPPET Chairman stated.
The statements came amid piling pressure on the teachers' employer body, with Members of Parliament keen on ensuring that remuneration for all teachers - including those in retirement - matches their respective job groups.
TSC, through its Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia, had denied the stagnation claims during an appearance before the National Assembly Committee on Education.
In 2022, the Commission embarked on the process of promoting over 14,000 teachers to suffice the number required to occupy leadership positions ranging from school principals and their deputies.
Candidates for promotions were required to file applications through TSC's website before the lapse of a deadline set for January 23.
"Pursuant to this mandate, the Commission invites applications from suitably qualified teachers for the posts shown below in line with the Teachers Career Progression Guidelines," TSC stated.
