This archive report was first published on 28 August 2019.
Published on August 28, 2019
Kenya's education sector is facing a major crisis after more than 18,000 school principals and deputies defected from the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) in a dispute over a pay rise.
The teachers, who have joined the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), are among those set to benefit from a Sh13 billion pay rise in the third phase of the 2017-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The move comes as efforts to resolve a stand-off between Knut and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) continue. ODM leader Raila Odinga and the Ministry of Labour have stepped up efforts to reconcile the two parties, which have returned to the Labour Court for the hearing of a dispute on unpaid union dues amounting to Sh138 million.
According to Kuppet Secretary-General Akelo Misori, the union has received 18,000 new members from Knut, including headteachers, their deputies, principals, and their deputies. The administrators were the major beneficiaries of the Sh54 billion four-year salary deal during the signing of the CBA.
Meanwhile, Knut officials are divided on whether or not a meeting of the union's National Executive Council slated for Thursday should proceed or not. Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion has called off the meeting to allow for talks, but some officials have vowed to go ahead with the meeting, with suspension of Mr Sossion being the only item on the agenda.
