When Monica Kimani was deployed to teach in a junior school in 2023, she looked forward to career advancement as she was transitioning from a primary school.
But all that has turned into frustration for the Thika-based teacher, who feels stuck with no clear path beyond job group C3.
Ms Kimani says the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) overlooked teachers who had already risen through the ranks in primary schools before being deployed to junior schools.
When the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system was rolled out, teachers were moved from primary schools to junior schools in 2023 and 2024 to address a shortage of tutors. But the deployment did not translate into career advancement for all.
“Once we were deployed to junior school, it was assumed that we all benefited because we were all to be promoted to job group C2,” Ms Kimani says.
She notes that this was not the case for all teachers who were deployed, as some had already attained C2 after undergoing and passing interviews, or had been given responsibilities as senior teachers.
Primary school teachers are initially employed in job group D5 and progress to C1 after three years. Those who advance through interviews or take up senior teacher responsibilities can attain C2.
When deployed to junior schools, teachers were placed in C2, meaning those who had already attained the grade received no additional benefit.
Under the current structure, junior school teachers can progress to C3 after three years. However, the next grade, C4, is associated with administrative positions in primary schools, such as deputy head teacher, and in senior schools, such as senior master.
Junior schools do not have equivalent positions, leaving teachers uncertain about how they can advance beyond C3.
“The most devastating thing is that in junior school, you can never be a deputy or senior master because the positions do not exist. It means that as a junior school teacher, you remain C3 forever,” she said.
Teachers Service Commission (TSC) headquarters in Upper Hill, Nairobi.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Her concerns reflect a wider sense of frustration among teachers deployed from primary schools, who say their career progression, transfers and administrative recognition have been neglected.
For teachers who previously held administrative positions, deployment has also meant a loss of professional recognition.
Protas Kanake, a junior school teacher deployed in Kiambu, says his experience in school leadership has not helped him navigate the new system.
He had been a head teacher in the private sector since graduating in 2009, gaining administrative experience before moving to the public sector in 2020. Yet the TSC did not factor in this experience during his deployment to junior school.
“As we speak right now, there are no clear modalities for career progression for junior school teachers,” he says.
Karanja, a junior school teacher deployed in Nairobi, says the lack of clear administrative structures has also left teachers feeling isolated.
“There is a sense of negligence of junior schools because none of the administrators is handling junior schools as all are from primary, so we are on our own and just do things on our own,” he says.
He says the senior teacher and deputy head teacher to whom junior school teachers report are based in the primary section, with their concerns relayed to the head of institution.
“The challenge is that they do not understand our issues well,” he says.
The teachers’ grievances are unfolding amid a growing contest between the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) over their representation.
Junior Secondary School teachers from Nairobi County demonstrate outside the Teachers Service Commission offices on May 13, 2024.
Photo credit: Evans Havil | Nation Media Group
Early this week, Kuppet accused Knut of violating the rights of teachers seeking to switch unions.
Kuppet Secretary-General Akelo Misori argued that deployment effectively moved the affected teachers into the post-primary education sector, yet they continued to be represented by a union whose recognition agreement covers primary school teachers.
“It is illegal to have a union cling to members who have expressed the intention to be in another union,” Mr Misori says.
However, some deployed teachers say the movement from Knut to Kuppet has not always been voluntary.
Regina, a junior school teacher deployed in Nairobi, says she had not requested to leave Knut but recently discovered deductions in favour of Kuppet on her payslip.
“I never made any request to switch to Kuppet. Yet I learnt from my payslip recently that money had been deducted courtesy of Kuppet,” she says.
Similar sentiments are shared by James Karanja, a junior school teacher based in Nakuru, who says his deployment to junior school was voluntary, but his transfer to Kuppet was not.
“I feel like I was forced into the union as I noticed the movement from Knut to Kuppet on my last two payslips, but I did not request the transfer,” he says.
Knut Nairobi Branch Executive Secretary Mugwe Macharia says the courts have pronounced themselves on the matter, allowing teachers to join a union of their choice despite the existing demarcation.
Knut Secretary-General Collins Oyuu has rejected Kuppet’s accusations, saying the union has not prevented teachers from choosing their preferred organisation.
He said the two unions had operated under a demarcation arrangement dating back to 2018, based on where teachers are domiciled and the administrators under whom they serve.
Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary-General Collins Oyuu.
Photo credit: Lucy Wanjiru | Nation
“If you are domiciled in secondary under the principal, you belong to Kuppet. If you are domiciled in primary under the head teacher, you belong to Knut,” he says.
He accused Kuppet of influencing the TSC to move deployed teachers into its membership without their consent.
He cited 9,830 teachers deployed to junior schools who, he said, were returned to Knut following a court order after expressing their preference to remain members of the union.
Mr Oyuu also alleged that some teachers, including Knut officials, had had deductions made in favour of Kuppet without formal communication.
