Elgeyo marakwet: Special needs teachers in Elgeyo Marakwet County are urging the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to address their stagnation in the same job group, which they claim has persisted for too long without any promotion.
According to Kenya News Agency, Jane Kiplagat, a special needs teacher with 31 years of service, expressed concern over the lack of promotions for educators like herself. She emphasized that special education teachers feel neglected compared to their counterparts in regular education, who seem to secure more opportunities for advancement.
Kiplagat criticized the TSC’s current promotion framework, describing it as structurally flawed. She noted that when special needs educators are considered for promotions, they are often transferred to regular schools instead of being retained in specialized institutions where their expertise is most needed.
‘We want to remain with the special children, moving us to regular schools completely drains specialized institutions of the expertise required to handle the vulnerable learners,’ said Mrs. Kiplagat. She argued that transferring experienced staff to regular schools deprives special institutions of the skills and bonds developed over a lifetime in special education.
Kiplagat also referenced a job assessment conducted by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), which recommended that special needs teachers be moved up by two grades. Despite this directive, she contends that they remain incorrectly graded. She called for the immediate implementation of the 2023 petition on teacher grading and welfare, which, although adopted by Parliament, has not been acted upon by the TSC.
The teachers demand that the implementation of this report be backdated to 2017 to compensate for years of lost earnings. ‘Parliament adopted our 2023 petition, yet we remain wrongly graded. We want full implementation of our rightful grades, and it must be backdated to 2017,’ she stated.
Kiplagat also highlighted the lack of true representation for special needs teachers, noting that although a union exists, they were not involved in electing their representatives. This leaves their issues unaddressed at the negotiating table.
‘We have a union purporting to represent us, but we were not involved in the elections. Without true leadership, the issues of special needs teachers are being completely left out at the negotiating table,’ she said.
Special needs educators are now calling on the government and the TSC to urgently intervene, correct the grading anomalies, and protect the educational welfare of Kenya’s most vulnerable children by fairly rewarding the teachers who care for them.
