The government is rushing against time to reopen schools next week, crippled by various crises, including over 21,000 Junior Secondary School (JSC) teachers refusing to report back to work.
In a notice issued to the Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC), the teachers drawn from more than 23,000 public schools announced that they would demonstrate if their requests were not met by Sunday.
Strike Notice Issued
The Junior Secondary School teachers thus issued a notice, threatening to boycott the school reopening in 2024.
Some of the demands issued by the JSC teachers included being granted permanent and pensionable contracts moving forward.
The looming strike has reportedly created major wrangles between the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) after the former accused the latter of sponsoring the JSC protests.
Bursaries Delays
Delay in reimbursement of the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) has also caused panic among parents depending on the bursaries to clear school fees.
Members of Parliament had in December walked out of a sitting, protesting over the delay in the release of the CDF money to constituencies.
The Cabinet Secretary for Education, Ezekiel Machogu, a week later, promised that the money would be released in January.
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, on January 2, 2023, called out the government over the same delays, as the money was yet to be released, contrary to the Ministry's promises.
“Ruto has defiled our education system and must be stopped. 2024 is a year to put this defunct government to task to deliver to Kenyans and lower the cost of living," Babu stated.
School Fees Hike
Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESHA) chairman Kahi Indimuli recently justified the need to increase charges for parents, as the heads of schools were having a hard time running schools over the high cost of living.
However, the Education Cabinet Secretary assured parents that the school fee structures would remain unchanged. He also warned headteachers and principals against increasing school fees.
The principals were reportedly introducing new charges in the cost of school uniforms and directing parents to purchase items from specific shops.
Good News
However, President William Ruto released Ksh31.34 billion capitation funds in preparation for school opening next week.
He allocated Ksh4.74 billion to the State Department for Basic Education for Term 1, Ksh7.6 billion as capitation for Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) and the balance for school examinations and invigilation fees (Ksh2.8 billion) and free day secondary education (Ksh16.2 billion).
