Kuppet wants Magoha fired for rejecting 60% salary raise

The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers wants Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha ejected from the ministry.

Union officials from Busia and Siaya on Saturday accused the CS of constantly meddling in the affairs of teachers.

The officials, who spoke in Busia town, termed Magoha’s opposition to the proposed 60 per cent rise in teachers’ salaries ‘disrespectful’.

 “It is in the public domain that the union talked of negotiations and discussions with the Teachers Service Commission regarding salaries increase. But he (Magoha) rubbished and dismissed the same and said there is not going to be any discussion about increment of teachers’ salaries and allowances," Siaya branch secretary Sam Opondo said.

“We are telling him that he has no business interfering with matters teachers’ management. Let him manage the ministry and leave issues to do with teachers' salaries to TSC.”

Magoha, Opondo said, does not mean well for teachers’ families through his opposition to salary increase demands by the instructors.

“I would want to ask the CS for Education to tone down and trim the pride he displays when he is handling teachers’ affairs,” Opondo said.

“Self-regulation is important.”

The Kuppet official made the remarks to the media during Kuppet’s annual general meeting attended by over 700 union members in Busia town.

Opondo spoke nine days after Magoha said the government was unable to effect teachers’ demands for higher pay.

The CS, who was commissioning the second phase of classrooms construction in Mombasa, said the ministry is for now focusing on the completion of the classrooms for the transitionto junior secondary schools next year.

“The government is already spending 25.9 per cent on education. Although I’m not the one in salaries docket, the 60 per cent teachers are asking for is unreasonable,” Magoha said.

The CS said Kenya’s economy had deteriorated and demands made by the teachers cannot be met.

He said having value for money will solve those issues since the government has already spent enough of the budget on the ministry.

The CS was responding to Knut secretary general Collins Oyuu who said on July 20 that the high cost of living had necessitated a rethink of teachers’ salaries.

Oyuu said teachers demanded 60 per cent salary increase, which they want implemented immediately.

Opondo’s Busia counterpart, Moffats Okisai, said Magoha should focus on ensuring operations in the ministry are smoothly run and leave the teachers unions to negotiate for the proposed salary raise with TSC.

Okisai said with the cost of living increasing by the day it was high time the teachers’ employer increased salaries for the instructors.

He said by meddling in teachers’ salaries, the CS was no longer serving his intended purpose as the ministry head.

He accused the ministry of failing to disburse money meant to support games in schools.

“We are supposed to be having the sub-county games but unfortunately the Ministry of Education under the leadership of Magoha has retained money meant for co-curricular activities and expects schools to send learners to these activities,” Okisai said.

“We are requesting that the Sh300 per learner that has been retained by the ministry in Nairobi be sent to schools to allow co-curricular activities to continue.”

On teachers' professional development, Okisai said the government had created multiple obstacles that hindered teachers from getting promotions. This, he said, had contributed to stagnation of many instructors.

“A secondary school teacher today has to work for over 30 years before he or she can reach the apex to be called a chief principal,” Okisai said.

“We are opposed to this. We want the old system whereby some classifications and categorisation which are there today will be scrapped off. We want a system where a secondary school teacher ascends directly to become a senior teacher, deputy principal and finally principal.”

Edited by henry Makori