Kuppet warns of crisis as Grade 10 transition faces major setbacks ahead

KUPPET national chairman Omboko Milemba flanked by officials address the press in Naivasha on 14/3/25 on teachers medical scheme. The union has issued a seven day notice to the government to release Sh11B for the teachers medical scheme failure to which they will call for industrial action. [Antony Gitonga]

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) has warned of a looming crisis in the transition of students from Junior Secondary to Senior Secondary Schools.

According to the union, the government has failed to train teachers meant to handle the new cohort of students set to join Grade 10 next year.

Meanwhile, KUPPET dismissed the Ministry of Education’s plans to construct more laboratories and classrooms this year, noting that the initiative had not been included in the budget.

The union’s national chairman, Omboko Milemba, said secondary school teachers had not been trained on how to handle Grade 10 students.

He also raised concerns over the lack of prepared learning materials, warning of a looming academic crisis.

“Without learning materials and unprepared teachers, students will join Grade 10 only to be taught by teachers still using the 8-4-4 system instead of CBC,” he said.

Speaking in Naivasha, Milemba criticised the Education CS for engaging in what he called “talk shows” and making empty promises while the crisis worsened.

He dismissed the CS’s pledge to construct more laboratories and classrooms, noting that no funds had been allocated for this in the supplementary budget.

“We have seen the supplementary budget, and there is no allocation for classrooms or laboratories, contrary to the CS’s claims,” he said.

Milemba warned of an impending crisis in the education sector due to the current financial crunch, adding that the progress made could be reversed.

“There’s no need to wait for a crisis to happen when we can act early to prevent it,” he said.

He urged senior ministry officials to engage stakeholders in decision-making, emphasizing that education is a shared responsibility, not just for the ministry.

Kuppet Deputy Secretary-General Moses Nthurima noted that the Treasury had yet to release the Sh28 billion capitation for public schools, forcing head teachers to send students home.