Principals start dismissing BOM teachers over reduced workload

Principals of secondary schools are laying off Board of Management (BOM) teachers saying their continued employment is not sustainable.

Both public and private secondary schools are downsizing their teaching staff after the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) spilled over to Grade 8 thus replacing the 8.4.4 class that would sit for KCPE this year to allow Form 1 admission in 2025.

A reduced workload, a slashed capitation and diminishing school fee payments simply calls for extreme measures which include cutting off some members of staff.

A significant number of secondary school Principals have issued notice of dismissal to their BOM teachers citing unfeasibility due to shrinking enrollment.

BOM teachers are feeling the heat of unemployment and more lay offs are looming. Many are struggling to get basic needs during this long school holiday.

Some BOM teachers were shocked to learn their school heads fired them through text messages and Whatsapp school groups.

At St. Barnabas Girls Secondary School in Seme, the Principal fired the ten BOM teachers through a memo.

“I wish to put on notice all BOM teachers and support staff on contract that owing to the inception of the CBC programme of education, next year 2025, we are not admitting fresh students to school. Henceforth, we shall only have three classes in Senior School and so the student population will reduce and we shall not manage to sustain the current wage bill. You are therefore informed that all contracts for BOM teachers and contracted support staff will be terminated with effect from 31st October 2024,” reads part of the memo.

However the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is currently recruiting a total of 20,000 teachers on internship terms to serve in Junior Secondary Schools (JSS).

This is an opportunity for the dismissed BOM teachers to secure a job with TSC. The TSC internship will eventually turn to permanent employment.

Most secondary schools pay BOM teachers a salary of between sh 10,000 and sh 15,000 a month. A few established ones including county and extra county ones pay above that rate.

TSC pays JSS intern teachers a monthly stipend of sh 20,000. This however reduces to sh 17,000 after statutory deductions like SHIF, Housing levy and NSSF.

There is a teacher employment crisis in the country and the government is contemplating exporting the surplus teachers abroad.

Last month TSC advertised a total of 46,000 permanent and pensionable teaching jobs.

To its shock the Commission received 314,117 applications for the slots it advertised between October 1 and 8.

TSC CEO Nancy Macharia, appearing before the Parliamentary Education Committee, said of these applications, 93,646 were for primary teacher posts against the 6,000 advertised, while 144, 177 were for JSS teachers against the 39,550 posts advertised.

TSC further received 76,294 applications for the 450 secondary school teacher posts it advertised, she told MPs.

The advertisement was part of TSC’s confirmation of 46,000 intern teachers on a permanent and pensionable basis from January 2025, for which the commission received Ksh.13.4 billion from the Treasury.