Primary teachers in Kirinyaga have urged the political class to familiarise themselves with the Competency Based curriculum in order to refrain from misinforming the public.
Led by county Knut executive secretary Patrick Mwangi Kanaiyo, the teachers on Saturday said it was uncouth for some politicians to lie that teachers were illegally benefitting from many of the items pupils are being asked to bring for their practical lessons.
They said the accusations amount to incitement, mockery and belittling of the teaching profession.
Kanaiyo called on the politicians to tame their tongues and prioritise consulting experts before inciting the public against the teachers and the new education system.
In addition to gaining political mileage, Kanaiyo ascribed the misinformation to ignorance and lack of public participation.
“Insinuating that teachers are misusing children’s items which they are being asked to bring to school for their practical lessons has not augured well with us. This is not only false but very unfortunate.”
Teachers are financially capable of buying such items for themselves without relying on their pupil,he said.
“We, therefore, call on our leaders to be cautious with their words and handle this matter from a credible point of view,” he said.
His remarks came after Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa early last month accused teachers of exploiting parents using the CBC. He alleged teachers have been asking pupils to carry chickens for practical purposes, only for the teachers to eat them.
The union officials hailed President William Ruto for putting in place a CBC task force that will oversee public participation and evaluation of the system. They said they were ready to submit their views to the Prof Raphael Munavu-led committee, which has 42 members and seven secretaries.
“We are waiting for the steering committee to start its work so that we can submit our views for consideration. We, in equal measure, are positive that the task force's recommendations will help refine the system to be better than it is now,” he added.
Kanaiyo further lauded the new administration for its commitment to fulfilling its other pledges such as employment and re-delocalization of teachers.
Kanaiyo called on the Teachers Service Commission to fast track the process of redeploying teachers who have applied to be transferred to their home counties while respecting the decisions of those who wish to remain in their present work stations.
He further urged the teachers’ employer to oversee swift promotion of teachers who deserve and have overstayed in their job groups.
In addition, he called for the streamlining of teachers’ medical cover and called for the consolidation of health service delivery for teachers under the scheme to reduce the current suffering.
“We want a scheme that will not limit the number of days in which teachers are to seek for medical services, the number of ailments that teachers should seek for and the amount of money in which teachers should incur under the scheme over a given period of time ,”he said.
Union county chair Alex Ngondi thanked Ruto's administration for its willingness in streamlining the education sector.
Edited by Henry Makori
