KUPPET wants TSC to withdraw teachers from schools being attacked over KCSE grades

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has called on the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to withdraw teachers from schools facing attacks by parents over poor performance.

There have been cases of parents, local leaders and even students storming schools in protest of poor performance in the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam. Most have been calling for the ouster of the respective school heads.

KUPPET chairman Amboko Milema on Wednesday condemned the incidents as disrespectful and said they have reached out to the teachers' employer TSC so that teachers in such centres can be withdrawn.

“We have asked the Teachers Service Commission to withdraw teachers from these schools. Teachers must be respected. We are adding value to the students yet they are harassing us and joining parents to chase us around. That cannot be allowed,” the KUPPET chair said on Citizen TV’s Day Break program.

He accused politicians of instigating the attacks, which he likened to cases of banditry that have disrupted learning in various parts of northern and northeastern Kenya.

“Parents are being incited by politicians like myself to harass teachers in schools because of poor performance,” Milema, who is also the Euhaya Member of Parliament, said.

'LEVELS OF VALUE ADDITION'

According to the KUPPET chair, parents must have realistic expectations of their schools based on learners’ performance when they are being admitted.

“Remember, these are the students who enter Form One with the 100 per cent transition policy, regardless of the marks they got. Which is this magic that we want from teachers to turn 60 into an A. There are levels that the value addition can be done,” he argued.

He said no learning should continue in such institutions until discussions are held between area leaders, parents and learners.

In the most recent case, angry parents of St Gabriel Isongo Secondary School in Kakamega, flanked by their area MP Peter Salasya, stormed the school on Monday calling for the ejection of the principal whom they accused of failing to uphold the school’s academic standards.

On Friday in Narok County, residents of Keyian stormed Olereko Mixed Secondary to express their displeasure over what they termed a consistently dismal performance.

The community demanded answers after the school recorded a mean grade of 1.5 points, with the top student scoring a D in the 2023 KCSE exam.

The day before, parents of Mafuta Secondary School in Moiben, Uasin Gishu County, barricaded the school gate in protest, calling for the removal of the principal who they accused of failing in his responsibility to the learners.

The leading student had a D+, followed by a D -, while the rest of the candidates scored an E.

'ELABORATE MECHANISMS'

Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has since condemned the attacks, saying the trend “appears to create the impression that the burden of poor performance in examinations must be exclusively borne by teachers, especially the head of the institution.”

Through a statement to newsrooms on Monday, Machogu said his ministry and TSC’s mechanism for evaluating the performance of teachers is elaborate and ensures non-performing staff are dealt with per existing laws and policies.

“We wish to remind communities behind these regrettable attacks that learner achievement in examinations is the reflection of the overall input from all stakeholders, including parents, teachers and candidates themselves,” the education minister said.