The Kenya National Teachers Pressure Group (KNTPG) has asked primary and secondary school teachers in the country to oppose a professional growth programme proposed by the Teachers' Service Commission.
The union officials discouraged the more than 350,000 teachers from enrolling in the Teacher Professional Development course (TPD) which is a learning process that takes 30 years to complete.
Speaking during a press conference in Nakuru, KNTPG organising secretary, Anne Wanyoike observed that the course has six modules with five chapters each, which run for a year during which teachers' annual leave allowances of Sh6,000 will be taken away.
"By the end of the 30 years, teachers going through the TPD course will have parted with Sh180,000 not to mention the examinations fee plus transport, food and accommodation which comes to a total of more than Sh500,000," she said.
The group is also opposed to the teachers medical insurance cover terming it as a scheme to fleece their money without service.
Wanyoike wondered how teachers were expected to go through the 30-year course without any promotion or monetary gain being pegged on it.
She added that teachers were required to pay for the course while the financier should be their employer, TSC in accordance to the code of regulations for teachers, regulation 51c, which states that the employer who is TSC is supposed to facilitate TPD.
"There is no way you can take the salaries of your employees and demand that you take them for an in-service course using their own money, this is unheard of," she said.
The unionist urged TSC to work on the modality and ensure that it was the financier for TPD.
She also questioned the eligibility of TPD wondering how someone who is almost retiring was supposed to go on a 30 year training course.
Wanyoike observed that course was domiciled at institutions where many teachers had trained previously but TSC rejected their Diplomas, Degrees and Masters on claims that they were not recognised.
"What has changed now that they are telling us that we can go back to the same institutions that they rejected, they should bring all those teachers that TSC rejected and promote them on the basis of their previous education."
Wanyoike who was accompanied by other union officials among them, secretary general, Martha Omollo said she attained her diploma from one of the listed universities that will offer TPD but she was not promoted.
The union chairperson, Jairus Sang also wondered why teachers were being compelled to have two medical insurance covers instead of having a comprehensive National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) cover.
He observed that besides NHIF, the other insurance cover was only being accepted in private hospitals which are very far from teachers in rural areas.
"Teachers in far flung areas like in Turkana, Baringo or in the North Eastern Counties have to spend huge amounts of money and time traveling in search of private hospitals that accept the other cover," he said.
He wondered why the government was forcing teachers to go to private insurers and hospitals.
