Teachers holding school administrative posts and are also union officials must give up one position, a conciliation team recommended yesterday.
The team appointed to mediate a dispute between the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) said the administrators should either relinquish their elective posts and serve their employer, or vice versa, to avoid a conflict of interest.
This means that about 21,000 primary school heads, 22,000 deputies and 23,000 senior teachers, who are Knut officials will most likely have to give up union politics and focus on teaching.
The team appointed by Labour Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani late last year has been trying to arbitrate between the union and the TSC over teacher transfers, performance contracting, professional development programmes and promotions. Mr Charles Maranga is chairing the nine-member team.
Knut had last year asked its 200,000 members not to report to work in the beginning of the year until the new policies, which it said were punitive, were shelved and renegotiated.