Looming Lay Offs, Deployment To JSS From Secondary Schools:Who Will Be Affected?
Thousands of Secondary School teachers face deployment to JSS while others are set to lose their jobs as the government implements changes to the national curriculum.
This comes after the Ministry of Education recently rejected a proposal to move the final year of junior to secondary schools.
With the anticipated decline in secondary school population, education stakeholders warn schools with excess staff compared to their student population may be forced to consider layoffs and deployment.
Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) secretary general Coliins Oyuu said this will mainly affect teachers under Board of Management (BoM) contracts and support staff.
According to figures produced before Parliament by the Ministry of Education in March, secondary schools host 4.2 million learners.
Looming Lay Offs, Deployment To JSS From Secondary Schools:Who Will Be Affected?
However, by next year the number of students in secondary schools will drastically drop to about 3.3 million.
On the other hand, education PS Dr Belio Kipsang has noted that the ministry has been forced to shrink the amount provided as capitation from Sh22,224 to about Sh17,000 to fill funding gaps in the institutions.
With a decline in student population next year, a section of education stakeholders say schools will witness a major deep in finances as the government funds institutions per the number of students
Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), secretary general Akello Misori, said the institutions will further be hit by a drop in fees paid directly by parents in boarding schools.
Misori has called on the Ministry to ensure funds that have been going to secondary schools are maintained even with exit of these year’s candidates to support effective operations.
While the decline in student population could finally be the unlikely solution to the long-standing teacher shortage that has plagued the institutions for a long time, some stakeholders think it could stretch to job cuts.
Looming Lay Offs, Deployment To JSS From Secondary Schools:Who Will Be Affected?
Knut secretary general warns that some schools might be forced to lay off staff who were hired on account of the high enrollment in the previous years.
He further hinted that schools which are overstaffed will be forced to some teachers on transfer while others will be deployed to Junior schools.
The Ministry of Education is yet to release detailed plans for the restructuring process. This lack of clarity causes uncertainty for school administrators, teachers, and parents.
Looming Lay Offs, Deployment To JSS From Secondary Schools:Who Will Be Affected?
