The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) officials in Nandi County have protested the transfer of Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers from the union to the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), terming the move an attempt to weaken the giant teachers’ union.

The officials accused the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) of moving teachers to KUPPET without consulting them, saying some of those affected were long-serving KNUT officials who had contributed to the growth of the union.

Speaking in Kapsabet, KNUT Nandi North secretary Josphat Serem said the union was protesting what he described as the poaching of members who had served KNUT diligently over the years.

“We are protesting the poaching of our members who have served this union diligently since its inception,” Serem said.

He said the affected teachers had played a significant role in building KNUT into one of the country’s largest teachers’ unions, questioning why they were being moved to another union without their consent.

“These teachers have helped this union to grow into what it is. They are now using another union to weaken KNUT,” he said.

Serem said it was wrong for TSC to transfer teachers from KNUT to KUPPET without first consulting them, arguing that union membership should be a matter of individual choice.

KNUT Nandi South secretary Stephen Misoi said some of the teachers affected were long-serving KNUT officials who had been moved to KUPPET without being consulted.

He said the transfers had raised concern among KNUT officials and members, who believe the move could undermine the union’s membership base.

“We believe that this is a ploy to weaken KNUT,” Misoi said.

He said KNUT had over the years played a central role in fighting for teachers’ rights and securing various benefits being enjoyed by teachers, adding that weakening its membership would have wider implications for the union’s ability to represent its members.

“KNUT is a giant union which is credited for the benefits teachers are enjoying today. We don’t know why TSC is targeting our members,” Misoi said.

He said the union had established itself as a strong voice for teachers and should not be weakened through what he termed interference with its membership.

Misoi said about 10,000 teachers had so far been moved from KNUT to KUPPET nationally, raising concern over the impact of the transfers on the union.

“We feel aggrieved. The strength of any union is its members,” he said.

Boniface Tenai, KNUT secretary for Tindiret and Nandi East, said the affected teachers should not have been removed from KNUT simply because they had been deployed to JSS.

“These are teachers who went to school, earned degrees and were deployed to Junior School. This is not a reason to remove them from KNUT,” Tenai said.

He called on the Ministry of Education to intervene and prevail upon TSC to stop what he described as meddling in the affairs of teachers’ unions.

“We are asking the Ministry of Education to prevail upon TSC to stop meddling in the affairs of unions,” he said.

Tenai said KNUT officials would continue pursuing the matter until a solution was found, adding that the union was prepared to take necessary action to protect its membership.

“We stand firm and shall take any necessary action to ensure this issue is resolved,” he said.

The officials said they were awaiting communication from the KNUT national office on the next course of action, even as the union seeks to address the movement of its members to KUPPET.

The dispute comes amid continued debate over the appropriate union representation for teachers serving in JSS, following the transition of the section from the former primary school structure.

By Kosuri Valarie