Teachers, on Monday, April 10, through the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), begged the government to revise their teaching calendar.
In a statement by the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), the teachers noted that they also required extra-curricular activities and other mental awareness courses or exercises.
Just like students under Competence Based Curriculum (CBC), teachers noted that they wanted a little play incorporated into what they termed as an overloaded teaching schedule.
“When we resumed the school calendar after the pandemic, the programs were compressed with term dates squeezed.
“This has taken a toll on our teachers with pressure going up,” KUPPET noted in a statement.
The teachers who had converged at Kapsabet Showground for a fun day during the Easter Holidays were fearful that they would not withstand the pressure.
“We are wary that some of our teachers might go into depression if we do not get a way to unwind,” they pleaded with the government.
KUPPET revealed that some of their teachers were silently battling mental illnesses and anxiety due to workload.
The Union noted that extracurricular activities would be a welcome relief as they would get time to take off the pressure.
“Sporting activities will be avenues of interaction which will, in turn, bring a positive result in our profession and lives at large,” they noted.
The government, through TSC, recruited 30,000 teachers for public Junior Secondary Schools on February 2023.
TSC at that time stated that it would be deploying at least one teacher in every public primary school. Teachers complained that delays necessitated them to teach up to 14 subjects in schools.
In December 2022, National Chairperson of the Kenya Primary Schools Head Teachers Association (KEPSHA), Johnson Nzioka, and the Presidential Advisor on mental Health, Dr. Frank Njenga, urged TSC to address mental health ailments among teachers.
Nzioka and Njenga argued that reports of suicide cases among teaching staff had increased severely.
In response, TSC CEO, Nancy Macharia advised teachers to leverage Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) to adapt to CBC demands and assured them that she would address mental awareness.
Several unions, nonetheless, took it upon themselves to train teachers on mental health awareness.
Counsellors, medics, and psychologists advise that you can always reach out for help when experiencing any mental health issues. Call Kenya Red Cross toll-free hotline, 1199, for support.
