Why Kuppet is demanding promotion of 130,000 teachers

The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) has accused the Teachers Service Commission of neglecting thousands of tutors who have stagnated in the same job groups for more than a decade.

The union officials said this is the case for teachers despite holding the qualifications and experience needed for promotion.

Kuppet National Executive Board officials said at least 130,000 teachers have attended multiple interviews, in some cases up to four, without securing promotions, leaving them demoralised and frustrated.

“Some teachers have been stuck in the same grade since 2011. If by 2025 they are still in the same position, it means they have stagnated. This is not just unfair, it turns the workplace into a prison,” said Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori.

The union proposed a structured promotion timeline, suggesting that teachers in job group C3 should move to C4 after three years without needing an interview, with interviews only required from C4 to C5 and beyond.

The officials argued that failure to promote teachers is hurting education quality, especially at a time when the country is transitioning to a new curriculum and facing overcrowded classrooms.

They drew parallels with recent promotions in the National Police Service, where officers who had stagnated for 10 years were elevated without interviews.

The policy, sanctioned by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, will see officers promoted without the declaration of vacancies or the need for interviews.

Under the new arrangement, constables, corporals, sergeants, and inspectors who have been in one grade for at least 10 years, or are over the age of 50, will benefit. The promotions will be coupled with advanced training and professional development.

“It is good that the government promoted police officers who had been in one rank for years. But what about teachers? We are also public servants, and we will not sit by and watch as we are discriminated against by the same government,” said Misori.

The union accused the Teachers Service Commission of “paying lip service” to teachers’ welfare, despite acknowledging their professional development efforts.

Many educators, the union noted, have upgraded their skills through personal investment in higher education and training, efforts that have gone unrecognised.