Top government officials and the heads of teachers’ unions and associations were on Friday involved in last-minute preparations for a visit to State House, Nairobi, on today.
On Wednesday, the officials met the Permanent Secretary for Basic Education, Prof Julius Bitok, at the Ministry of Education headquarters at Jogoo House, where they agreed on the allocation of delegates to the event that is being billed as a historic engagement with President William Ruto.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) has been allocated the largest number of delegates (3,300), while the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) has been allocated 2,000 slots. The Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (Kusnet) will have the least number at 400.
On the associations’ side, the Kenya Primary School Heads Association (Kepsha) will take up 2,300 slots, with the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (Kessha) assigned 2,000.
The Cabinet Secretary for Education, Julius Ogamba, met the leadership of the unions and associations for a briefing on how to structure their presentations to the President and to agree on the officials who will speak on behalf of the rest.
The Saturday Nation understands only the secretaries-general of the unions and chairpersons of associations will speak. The leaders later met their top organs to brief them on the same.
The two-hour meeting on Wednesday with Prof Bitok centred on setting the agenda for the talks and finalising the composition of the 10,000-member teachers’ delegation that will meet Dr Ruto.
According to some of the officials who attended, the meeting will focus on issues affecting teachers, including welfare, working conditions, and the role of educators in advancing the government’s education reforms.
Officials said the unions agreed to present a unified position on welfare, remuneration and working conditions, while also signalling readiness to engage with the government’s wider education reform agenda.
Responding to queries by Saturday Nation this week, State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohammed said the meeting was purely on educational matters, taking into consideration what the government has done in regard to competency-based education and training, the expansion of infrastructure, the higher education funding model, and the increased recruitment of teachers, among many other issues.
“State House is a public place, not exclusive to some and closed off to others. What’s the problem with interest groups holding meetings with the President? Isn’t that what leadership should be about?” he posed.
He added that those invited would make decisions on the way forward and that the deliberations would be communicated by the State House media team.
“It is a genuine effort to listen to stakeholders and find practical solutions for education. This is to understand what is going on in the sector and talk about the way forward,” he said.
The chairperson of Kepsha, Fuad Ali, said one of the main concerns to be raised is the perennial delayed release of school funds. Late disbursement has disrupted learning, left schools struggling to pay suppliers, and in some cases forced headteachers to send students home for fees.
Teachers’ unions are also expected to push for timely implementation of collective bargaining agreements , better working conditions and clarity on the government’s stance regarding pension contributions.
Other stakeholders said the President is expected to reassure school administrators on the rollout of the higher education funding model, which has faced resistance from some quarters due to delays in disbursement and confusion among parents and students.
“This meeting gives us a chance to air real issues affecting classrooms, from inadequate teaching materials to stalled infrastructure projects,” said a union official familiar with the preparations.
The gathering comes at a time when pressure has been mounting on the government to demonstrate commitment to resolving education challenges, amid fears that frequent policy changes have created uncertainty for learners, teachers, and parents alike.
According to the County-Based Dialogue on Education Quality and Learning Outcomes in Competency-Based Education (CBE) report, stakeholders raised fresh concerns over the implementation of the CBC, citing challenges in assessment, teacher management, and welfare.
The report reveals that the Competency-Based Assessment (CBA) process has been faulted for being costly, unfair, and lacking inclusivity.
Parents complained about inflated fees, including a Sh2,000 charge for late registration, while schools reported inflated scores in school-based assessments.
Stakeholders further warned that exam malpractice, previously common under the 8-4-4 system, risks creeping back under CBC.
