More money for teachers, but for what services?

The Government is hard-pressed to justify payment of Sh17 billion to a teaching force that has over the years declined to be appraised.

The Standard on Saturday has established that even as plans are underway to honour the pay deal, there is growing irritation in Government on the commitment of the teaching force to deliver quality education.

The clearest indication came to bear in Parliament on Thursday when, Mutava Musyimi, the National Assembly budget committee chairman faulted teachers for declining to sign performance contracts.

He also cited absenteeism among teachers and noted that they do not deserve the 50 to 60 per cent salary increment. “The profession is riddled with absenteeism and teachers also declined to sign performance contracts,” said Musyimi.

Musyimi was making reference to a recent Global Monitoring Report that listed teachers in Kenya as notorious for ‘absenteeism and skipping classes’.

“Estimates for 21 countries indicate that the teacher absenteeism rate in primary education exceeds 20 per cent in Ghana, India, Senegal and Uganda,” reads the Education for All, 2000-2015 report.

The report further says only half of teachers who go to schools actually teach. Addressing both primary and secondary school heads meetings in Mombasa, TSC chairperson Lydia Nzomo cautioned that the heads would be personally held responsible for dwindling education standards in their schools.

A Government official yesterday said it is not clear why teachers must get pay rise under their ‘uninspiring’ attitude towards work.

The official also made reference to a 2013 report that painted a grim picture of primary school teachers’ mastery of content they teach. The African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) report says teachers failed simple tests administered to them in the subject areas they teach.

The study dubbed ‘quality access to education in urban informal settlements in Kenya’ revealed that one third of the teachers tested during the research period scored bellow 40 per cent in subjects they teach, with some of them scoring as low as 10 per cent.

“Teachers must step up even as they ask for salary increment. It is immoral to constantly ask for pay when they are not doing enough to improve quality,” said the official who asked not to be named for fear of disclosing high-level Government conversations.

But that is not all. Questions are also being raised about teachers’ workload. “How many lessons do teachers teach in a week? Compare that to the pay and allowances,” said the official. Attempts by the Government has to raise the teachers’ workload has faced stiff resistance from teachers unions.

Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) officials yesterday dismissed the claims as irrelevant. “Those are diversionary. For now we know our focus,” said Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion.