Why 60,000 Teachers Declined Transfers to Teach in Junior Secondary Schools

About 60,000 primary school teachers have declined the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) offer to teach in Junior Secondary Schools.

In a document to the National Assembly Committee on Education dated July 11, TSC said out of the 68,671 primary school teachers qualified to teach in Junior Secondary Schools, only 8,367 teachers have moved to teach in these establishments.

The teachers’ employer added that it had observed primary school teachers were not willing to transfer to junior secondary school as the new roles came with little to no benefits.

“Our analysis has revealed that a sizable number of teachers beyond the grade of C2, especially deputies and headteachers of primary schools, did not apply for deployment to Junior Secondary School since they are already in higher job groups as there was no extra motivation,” the document reads.

Kenya National Union of Teachers secretary general Collins Oyuu said the lack of good compensation that matches the workload in junior school makes the positions unattractive.

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“If a teacher will earn the same amount of money they get but get a heavier workload and teach a more complex level, they would rather not move,” Oyuu said.

TSC has so far recruited about 30,365 teachers in junior secondary schools across the country, where 21,365 are under the internship program that runs for one year and 9,000 on permanent and pensionable.  It, however, said the door is open for any teacher willing to join Junior school.

“The portal for application for deployment to Junior Schools is still vacant, and teachers who acquire the necessary qualifications are free to apply and be deployed on a continuous basis,” stated TSC.

The minimum qualification for deployment to Junior Secondary Schools is a diploma in Education. Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics show that the highest number (152,839)of primary school teachers in the country are certificate holders.

Certificate holders do not qualify to teach in junior secondary. On the other hand, 2,047 teachers have master’s and doctorate degrees, 27,324 teachers have bachelor’s degrees, and 39,300 have diplomas.