The Kenya Primary School Heads Association will host its 17th Annual Delegates Conference this month in Mombasa. More than 10,000 school heads and other stakeholders are expected to convene at Sheikh Zayed Children Welfare Centre from December27-30,2021.
The theme for the conference will be “The Headteacher: Leading in Crisis, Reimagining the Future”.
KEPSHA National Chairman Johnson Nzioka said stakeholders will seek to find solutions that promote adequate response to crises, enhance teacher leadership and protect the right to education.
All Headteachers across the country are encouraged to register for the conference via info@kepsha.or.ke or 0725864448 or on the KEPSHA website (www.kepsha.or.ke)
The meetings, which are usually held in the morning, leave over 10,000 heads with a whole afternoon to walk on the sandy beaches, sightseeing and swim in the Indian Ocean.
Last year, a similar meeting was not held due to the covid-19 pandemic, which forced the government to stop public gatherings and put restrictions on the movement of persons, including lockdowns to curb the spread of the pandemic.
Nzioka yesterday promised to issue details on how the conference will be held but assured the government that the forum will adhere to health protocols from the Ministry of Health.
The association held its last annual delegates conference in 2019 before the outbreak of the deadly disease.
More than 7,000 members of the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (Kessha) also held their annual conference at the Kenya School of Revenue Administration (KSRA) located near the Sheikh Zayed centre.
*KEPSHA’s Latest Resolutions On Teachers, Learners And Schools 2021-2022*
Almost 10,000 school heads resolved yesterday to advocate for the placement of grades 7, 8, and 9 in primary schools, claiming that they are capable of supervising junior secondary students.
Kenya Primary School Head Teachers’ Association (Kepsha) resolved to support the proposal to convert all secondary boarding schools to day schools after a three-day conference.
They claimed that this would allow parents to participate in raising their children, reducing arson in secondary schools, and raising educational standards.
The proposal by the headteachers to push for Grades 7, 8, and 9 to be housed in primary schools comes a day after the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) appears to place a restriction on primary school teachers who can be promoted to secondary school teachers.
TSC announced on Wednesday that only teachers with a mean grade of C+ in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) would be promoted to teach in secondary schools, regardless of their degree.
Thousands of teachers who received less than a C+ in the KCSE but pursued a diploma to obtain a degree or a master’s degree were previously barred.
“Kepsha also proposes that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) should consider a hardship allowance to teachers when they are delocalized,” stated part of the 28-point resolutions.
At the same time, the principals want their employer, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), to pay a hardship allowance to teachers who have been transferred as part of the delocalization policy.
The principals also suggested that the government provide desks for schools and map out schools in slums so that all bright but needy children can attend school.
“Kepsha would engage the Ministry of Education to ensure all schools receive funds by the beginning of the term and increase the capitation,” said Kepsha National Secretary Philip Mitei.
Mutei, who read the resolutions after the conference ended yesterday at Mombasa’s Sheikh Zayed Children Centre, said the teachers agreed to ensure that textbooks for each new grade were delivered before the child moved up a grade.
Meanwhile, TSC Chairman Jamleck Muturi stated yesterday that the majority of retired teachers had not received their benefits because their files were missing at the ministry.
Dr. Muturi told about 10,000 headteachers in Mombasa that the commission would implement a biometric system to capture and digitize teachers’ data for effective service delivery.
He stated that the commission was working on strategies to expand professional services and that an online training program for teachers was already in place on CBC.
TSC, according to Muturi, will automate its recruitment, transfer, registration, and leave processes.
A teacher management information management system (TMIS)
has been installed, according to him.
“We are also hearing the disciplinary cases virtually to dispense cases quickly,” he said.
“In order for you to lead effectively as the engines of education in the country, you cannot be rigid because knowledge is not a monopoly of an individual,” said Muturi.
The heads agreed to continue supporting the CBC system, which was initiated by the government to replace the 8-4-4 system.
The headteachers backed Knut Secretary-General Collins Oyuu’s proposal to convert all schools in the country to day schools.
On Tuesday, Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha assured headteachers that funds would be made available to schools when classes resumed the following week.
He also asked teachers to ensure that no child is left behind due to poverty in their education.
“We will ensure there is 100 per cent transition of learners from primary to secondary to enable every child to have an opportunity of developing his or her potential,” said Mitei.
The conference also decided to promote essay writing competitions for students