Bungoma teachers oppose 'best teacher awards'

Written by Daniel Saenyi

Education Assistant Minister Ayiecho Olweny awarding a best performing teacher during an Education day ceremony in Matungu. [photo/File]

The Best teacher, best principal and best head teacher awards are the most prestigious awards most teachers look forward to on an education day.

However, this year, the awards have been met with a lot of controversies as some teachers insist that they should be done away with.

Some teachers have suggested that the award should cease to exist because it demoralizes some teachers as opposed to its intention.

They argued that teachers may work hard to try to be recognized by the public but in the end their efforts are fruitless, so they decide not to perform because they are not appreciated.

The District Education Officer for Bungoma South District Mr. Japheth Shitubi proposed that the Secondary Schools Heads Association review the award because instead of encouraging teachers, it demoralizes them as opposed to its objective.

“The intention for the award was good but it has ended up serving the opposite as some teachers get their self esteem shot down. The criteria put forward for choosing this teachers has served its purpose for some time but it has its own flaws as we experienced this year thus leading to calls by teachers to remove the award. This award has led to teachers being subjective instead of being objective so if the criteria can be reviewed it will be of benefit to the teachers and the entire education sector,” Said Mr. Shitubi.

The criteria used to select the deserving teachers are the question on every teacher’s mind the moment the topic is brought up. The criterion the ministry of Education uses to identify the teachers is not known to the public so everyone is kept in the dark hoping they are chosen when they were not considered.

Education facilities differ in many ways, private schools are different from public schools, and they should consider this when making the decision over whom to be awarded.

Further, the teachers argue that if the award is to keep on existing, they should categorize institutions like rural and urban schools or private from public.

According to Makutano Primary head teacher Mr. Amos Mayeko, some teachers who do not deserve it get recognition while those who greatly deserve the award are overlooked.

“The teacher who lays foundation for these pupils may get transferred when the awards are near and the new teacher may get recognition when they have not even taught the students for long. The same applies to principals and head teachers who could get transfers before their school is awarded as the best,”“Said Mr. Mayeko.

Mr. Mayeko said, “It is only the pupils and students of the school or class who know who the best and worst teacher is, and no student is ever asked to give their opinion. I think the people who give this awards should do thorough research before awarding someone as the best because in most cases the come up with the wrong conclusions.”

Mrs. Juliana Simiyu, the head teacher for Mewa Academy, also insisted that the criterion used is not the best way to award teachers. According to her, these awards are only given to popular teachers who are already known by the public even though they do not perform.

The government should categorize teachers and schools so that the award is given to the schools according to the division they fall under as they have been categorized. If the award is to be generalized, the less developed schools should be upgraded so they can rise to the standards of their competitors, she said.

For the awards to be fair, more resources should be allocated to the marginalized schools, and we should remind the ministry of Education that neglecting the vulnerable is a violation of their fundamental human rights.

The government should prioritize investment in the schools by reviewing their policy framework with the purpose of supporting the Millennium Development Goals, and as such we should echo the call for the employment of more teachers and better facilities for the schools.