New officials elected to head Kuppet branch

New officials for Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) were elected over the weekend. Stephen Topisia was elected the union’s chair while Charles Ngeno, a correspondent with The Standard, won the executive secretary’s position.

Speaking after the election, Mr Ngeno called on the Government to improve the working environment for teachers, learning facilities and increase the number of teachers before introducing the performance contracts.

He said the performance contracts that are being rolled out by Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will not amount to much if the Government does not play its role effectively. “It is wrong for State to push the teachers yet it has failed to meet its part of the deal.

How does the Government expect teachers to deliver when it fails to remit the education funds at the beginning of the term?”

He added that little would be realized if teachers continued to attend to crowded classrooms.

“We have never ceased asking the Government to address the under-staffing in our schools. Some teachers take over 40 lessons in classes that have over 60 students.

Personalised learning will not be attained under such circumstances,” said the official.