Treasury Cabinet Secretary (CS) John Mbadi has caused a stir with a dramatic reversal on his earlier stance regarding the employment of Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers. In a recent about-face, Mbadi admitted that his previous claim of no funds for hiring JSS teachers on permanent and pensionable terms was incorrect. This admission comes after a week of confusion and frustration among educators and unions.
During an interview with Citizen TV last Thursday, Mbadi asserted that the government lacked the financial resources to employ the 20,000 JSS teachers on permanent and pensionable terms. This statement triggered widespread backlash from the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers (KUPPET), who had been campaigning for the teachers’ permanent employment and fair compensation.
In a surprising turn of events, Mbadi retracted his previous statement on Sunday, clarifying that there is indeed money allocated for the conversion of JSS teachers to permanent and pensionable status starting January 2025. The CS acknowledged that his earlier comments were based on outdated or incorrect information regarding the budgetary status.
“Those who are saying there is money in the budget for JSS teachers are right. I am wrong and there is nothing with saying I am wrong. The communication was wrong from my side I should have been clearer,” Mbadi conceded during a phone interview with Citizen TV.
Mbadi explained that while there is indeed a budget allocation of Ksh. 22 billion for the teachers’ conversion, the funds are earmarked for the implementation starting January 2025. He had, however, inadvertently suggested that there would be no money to cover salaries from July to December of this year.
“I actually implied that there would be no money to pay them from July to December but I should have been very clear that there is money in the budget from January,” Mbadi stated.
This clarification comes amidst growing unrest among teachers and their unions. The KNUT and KUPPET have called for a nationwide strike set to commence on Monday, August 26, 2024. The unions’ decision to strike stems from unresolved grievances discussed during a meeting on July 16, 2024. They accused the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) of failing to address critical issues related to teachers’ welfare and employment conditions.
Education CS Julius Migos has added to the tension by revealing an acute shortage of funding within his ministry. Migos disclosed that the government is struggling to meet all financial demands within the education sector. His comments have exacerbated the situation, especially as the government faces difficulties in fully implementing phase 2 of the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The standoff between the government and the educators highlights a broader issue of funding and resource allocation within the Kenyan education system. Teachers are critical to the country’s educational infrastructure, and their demands for fair treatment and job security underscore the need for more robust and transparent budgeting practices.
As the strike date approaches, the government faces mounting pressure to resolve the issues at hand. The conflicting statements and the resulting confusion have further strained relations between the education sector and the government. With the threat of industrial action looming, all eyes are on how the government will address these concerns and ensure that the promises made to JSS teachers are fulfilled in a timely manner.
The resolution of this conflict will be crucial not only for the teachers’ immediate job security but also for the overall stability and functionality of Kenya’s education system. As negotiations continue, the hope is that both sides can reach a compromise that addresses the pressing issues while maintaining the focus on providing quality education for Kenyan students.
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