TSC Meets Machogu Ahead of National Examinations.
On Wednesday morning, Education Cabinet Secretary Hon. Ezekiel Machogu met with Teachers Service Commissioners (TSC), including Chair Dr Jamleck Muturi and CEO Dr Nancy Macharia, for a consultation.
The Cabinet Secretary has asked the commission to train teachers more often and let them help run future national exams.
CS Machogu also encouraged the commission to collaborate to improve the education system and students in general.
The Honorable Ezekiel Machogu commended the commission for its ongoing support of students and teachers and pledged to engage with them regularly.
The General Director of the Ministry of Education, Dr Elyas Abdi, was also present.
The meeting comes just a day after the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) met with CS Machogu.
Teachers submitted a request to Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu requesting that the non-monetary Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed with the TSC be reconsidered.
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) instructors are another groups that the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers would like to have sent to the Teachers Service Commission.
Yesterday, while speaking at a meeting with Machogu, Kuppet mentioned that as a result of the transfer, the 3,780 trainers were not eligible to participate in the fourth phase of the CBA increases.
The CS assured that the government was serious about its commitment to enhancing educators’ working conditions.
“We are negotiating with the Teachers Service Commission on some of these issues and we expect the Kenya Kwanza government to support our request of raising teachers salaries,” said Machogu.
The decision to transfer teachers from TSC to PSC was overturned by Judge Nelson Aboudha of the Labour Court in 2019. The judge concluded that TSC was the only designated employer of teachers.
In order to justify the decision, Kevit Desai, the Principal Secretary of the Vocational and Technical Training Department at the time, argued that the state was developing a new service plan for technical tutors.
The union urged Machogu to give the appropriate legal framework to ensure a smooth transition to junior secondary schools on the CBC, stating that the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform might not address the subject in two months.
Machogu, on the other hand, gave assurances that the group will present recommendations concerning the matter in a preliminary report the following month.
The Chief of Staff backtracked on some of his controversial statements regarding the funding of universities while he was speaking at a separate event.
Machogu stated that he did not completely rule out the possibility of the government continuing to subsidize public universities.
His comments came at a time of widespread indignation. Uasu, which stands for Universities Academic Staff Union, announced on Monday that they would work on getting Machogu fired due to the remarks.
According to Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga, the comment violated the Kenya Kwanza vow about funding for higher education.
However, Machogi stated yesterday that he plans to meet with the unions soon.
He stated that the government would continue to fund higher education at universities through capitation and infrastructure funding. Machogu, on the other hand, remained certain that public colleges have to make efforts to augment their revenue streams through research and innovation.
He stated, “we are encouraging colleges to examine if there are other ways in which they can produce additional revenue rather than dependent on the government.” “We are encouraging universities to investigate if there are other ways in which they can generate additional revenue.”
