John S. Khabamba

Teacher's representatives; Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) have taken different positions on the teachers'  strike that  was/is set to begin on Monday. KNUT Secretary General, Collins Oyuu (left) consults with his KUPPET counterpart, Akello Misori during a meeting with TSC.  Photo by The Standard Kenya   The two unions had issued strike notices with similar demands to the employer TSC earlier in the month. Top on the list, was the implementation of second phase of the 2021-25 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). A series of meetings were held to avert the crisis occasioned by the probable industrial action. The last-gasp talks at the Kenya School of Government yielded partial fruits as the employer agreed to honor the CBA pact. Although the fate of the other demands remained vague, TSC, in its press release, noted that the unions had agreed to withdraw the strike notices after consulting their inte...

 National Treasury Cabinet Secretary, John Mbadi has  now backtracked on his previous sentiments on JSS Confirmation. The CS now claims there is money allocated for the confirmation of JSS interns from January, 2025. Image: Treasury Cabinet Secretary, John Mbadi during an interview on Thursday with Citizen TV.  Photo courtesy of Citizen Tv Kenya  "Those saying there's money, they are very right. I was wrong and there nothing wrong with being wrong", Mbadi defended himself in undated audio interview. " I was misunderstood when I said there are no resources for confirmation," he continued. "What I meant was that due to cash crunch at the Treasury, we cannot afford to facilitate the confirmation from July to December this year. But there is an allocation of Ksh, 22 bilion for that process effective next year in January", he explained. The first time minister also disclosed that the communication has been made to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) over ...

 The chair of the Parliament's departmental committee on Education, MP Julius Melly has called out the National Treasury CS John Mbadi for lying about the JSS confirmation. "I was surprised when Mbadi woked up and claimed that there's no JSS money", Melly said while speaking at a function. National Assembly Education Committee Chairman, MP Julius Melly.  Photo by The Star "Budget making process is done in the Parliament not at the Ministry and there are printed estimates from the National Assembly to the Treasury.  I want to assure KNUT and KUPPET that, I being the chair of Education Committee,  saw Ksh 18 billion for JSS," he expounded Earlier CS Mbadi made the  shocking revelation on Citizen TV when asked about the allocation made for JSS Interns Employment.  " We don't have resources for confirmation of JSS teachers and employment of additional 20k,"Mbadi dropped the bombshell.  " There was a mention from the departmental committee on E...

Thousands of teachers in  public schools across the country have been  left in dillema as to whether to report on Monday next week or not. This follows conflicting communication from TSC and the Unions after the protracted consultative meeting which aimed at averting the looming industrial action. The crisis in teaching fraternity  reached full blown when teacher unions, KNUT and KUPPET threatened to lobby their members to down their tools ahead of opening for third term. The unions tabled six demands, top on the agenda being implementation of phase II of 2021-25 CBA. The second and final phase of salary increment was supposed to implemented effective July, 2024 but that wasn't reflected in July pay.  This, among other issues sparked teachers outrage who have accused the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) of draconian labour practices. The employer has been accused of non-remittance of third party deductions, failure to promote over 130k teachers leading to career sta...

A new Premier League  season is back and so are  mouthwatering clashes. After Manchester united left it too  late to  snatch three points against Fulham on Friday night, it was the turn of Liverpool and the Co. to continue with the opener weekend showdowns.  Here is how it went down... Ipswich Town baptism of fire...  New boys Ipswich Town were taught  lunch time  premier league lesson by the new-look Liverpool as they haplessly let in two unanswered goals. Mohamed Sala continued with his incredible goal-scoring streak on opening weekends with superb effort. Diogo Jota slotted home the second to cap a perfect afternoon for EPL managerial debutant, Arn Slot.  Photo courtesy :New Liverpool manager gestures during his first EPL match against Ipswich Town.   A hard fought victory for the Gunners...  A 2-0 score line may seem a comfortable win but it wasn't the case for the  title challengers. Arsenal were made to sweat for the thre...

Religion is a social construct whose tenets are peace, love and unity. That, in religion we find solace, calm and companionship as we  juggle between the grueling duels that come our way. Well, that assertion cannot be refuted but we cannot overlook it's glaring parodixal role in shaping the heart-piercing events both at home and at a global scale.   Photo: Courtesy:Some of the World's major religions Indeed religion is one major instruments of multi-dimensonal growth but it's equally the source of some of the world's major upheavals. Take for instance the Israel - Palestinian war. The raging annihilation  was borne out, has been sustained and possibility of stop to it remains a pipedream all because of religious differences which can never be reconciled if religious indoctrination and radicalisation still supersedes logic and reason. Coming closer to home the storyline  has remained the same only at different perspective. While, religion has never shoved us into a h...

Calls are growing for Teachers Service Commission to reinstate the sacked JSS interns. Already Kuppet has petitioned TSC to rescind its decision to axe over 700 teachers, the Ministry Of Education has also dived  into the matter.  Kakamega Governor, Fernandes Barasa is the latest figure to add their voice to the impasse. TSC headquarters in Nairobi. Photo by The Standard.  Speaking during a KNUT function in Mumias, the first time Governor  urged TSC to recall the termination letters issued to the tutors for apparently missing duty without satisfactory reasons.  "On behalf of the Council of Governers, we demand the reinstatement of the sacked teachers because it's their right to picket." The governor said in part.  TSC wrote to over ten thousand teachers demanding an explanation as to why they missed duty during the first week of opening. Of the number, over nine thousand responded to the show cause letters within the procedural two weeks. According to the e...