KNUT Provides Information on Gov’t’s Reluctance to Employ More Teachers
KNUT Provides Information on Gov’t’s Reluctance to Employ More Teachers. Collins Oyuu, the secretary general of the Kenya National Union of Teachers, has expressed worry over the government’s reluctance to hire more teachers, which in his opinion has caused the commercialization of education in the nation.
Oyuu contends that although there is a significant supply of skilled instructors, the government is not aggressively seeking them out. He noted that by the end of 2022, the number of qualified teachers who were employed and those who were not was almost equal, with around 345,000 qualified instructors currently teaching and almost 320,000 qualified teachers who were unemployed. He highlighted that the problem isn’t a teacher shortage, but rather the need for more teachers to be employed.
Oyuu thinks that because of this employment vacuum, education has turned into a for-profit industry where people create institutions, hire underemployed teachers at low wages, and charge students exorbitant fees, making huge profits.
Oyuu made clear during an interview with Spice FM that she firmly believes education should continue to be a public service rather than a business endeavor.
UNESCO recommends a maximum teacher-to-student ratio of 1 teacher to 45 students, however the actual ratio is 1 teacher to 65 students. He also emphasized the significance of maintaining fair teacher-pupil ratios. Oyuu described cases when instructors were in charge of between 70 and 100 students, such as at Olympic Primary School.
Oyuu acknowledged the Kenyan government’s recent efforts to hire 35,000 teachers, but he maintained that even more teachers need to be hired. In order to successfully implement the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), he underlined the need for more instructors, highlighting the crucial role that an adequate number of educators play in this process.
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