KUPPET expands leadership to include JSS teachers, women, and people with disabilities

Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers, women, and people with disabilities will now have a leadership slot in the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) National Governing Council (NGC) under the newly expanded leadership structure.

In a recent constitutional review by KUPPET, JSS teachers have been allocated the Assistant National Secretary slot, while women and people living with disabilities will hold the First, Second, and Third Assistant National Gender Secretary positions.

The new constitution, which will take effect in January 2026, will expand the NGC within KUPPET’s leadership to include 11 elected national officials and 16 women representatives from various counties.

According to the union’s new constitution, the National Advisory Council (NAC) comprises elected national officials, including the National Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General, National Treasurer, and other key officials from county branches.

The NAC, chaired by the National Chairperson, meets annually or as determined by the National Executive Board. Its key functions include advising the NGC on union matters, strategic direction, and policy alignment.

Meetings occur twice a year or as necessary to ensure effective governance between Annual Delegates’ Conferences.

The NAC’s responsibilities include enforcing union decisions, ensuring constitutional adherence, disciplining members, soliciting funds for projects, and approving policies. A quorum is set at one-third of the expected members.

According to KUPPET Deputy Secretary-General Moses Nthurima, this  structured governance framework ensures effective management, transparency, and alignment with the union’s mission and objectives.

“Election guidelines under the new constitution will ensure that teachers from previously marginalised groups, including women, youth, and people living with disabilities, rise to national leadership,” said Nthurima.

He spoke on Tuesday in Nairobi after a meeting between KUPPET and representatives of JSS teachers, people with disabilities, and the lobby’s women’s caucus.

The National Executive Board (NEB) consists of 14 elected national officials, ensuring regional and gender balance. It operates on a full-time basis, managing the union’s daily affairs and overseeing business at the headquarters.

Key responsibilities include negotiating Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), implementing union policies, financial management, and enforcing decisions made at Delegates’ Conferences. The NEB also oversees union projects, staff recruitment, and the establishment of new branches.

There are eight Regional Councils, each comprising elected officials from their respective branches. These councils meet twice a year to discuss union and educational matters. Each council elects a steering committee and manages its finances through branch levies and grants. The regions include Coast, North Eastern, Eastern, Central, Rift Valley, Western, Nyanza, and Nairobi.

The Branch General Assembly (BGA) will operate under a county-based framework and must be approved by the NEB. The BGA convenes annually to elect members of the Branch Governing Council (BGC) and Branch Executive Committee (BEC). It is responsible for approving financial statements, managing branch affairs, and overseeing elections.

The BGC and BEC, which include key branch officials, ensure the coordination of union activities at the branch level. They also oversee discipline, financial management, and project implementation.

The BEC meets monthly and focuses on member mobilisation, fee collection, and record-keeping.

KUPPET has also increased the number of trustees from four to nine to accommodate the growing union membership and properties.

Trustees, elected every five years to ensure regional balance, safeguard union property and bank accounts, oversee officer transitions, and scrutinise financial records. They are also empowered to recommend actions to the NGC and the Annual Delegates’ Conference.

Nthurima noted that the expanded team will ensure equal representation, unlike the previous constitution, which had been in place since 2010 when the teacher population was much lower.

“The new structure will address representation gaps and align the union with the national government’s structures, which have offices at the regional level. The union’s county leadership has had limited capacity to address regional teachers’ issues,” he stated.

JSS teachers welcomed the move, dismissing reports that they were coerced into joining KUPPET.

“JSS teachers are secondary school teachers. We belong here (KUPPET). KUPPET is home,” said JSS National Spokesperson Omari Omari.

However, while acknowledging progress in negotiations, Omari maintained that they have yet to agree on several contentious issues, including representation at the national level.

“We have agreed that the word ‘Assistant’ shall be removed, and we shall only have a Secretary for JSS. We have also agreed that at least two trustees—one woman and one man—will be selected from JSS teachers,” he said.

Other unresolved issues include being allowed to form part of committees that oversee co-curricular activities during sports competitions and finding mechanisms to resolve disputes between JSS teachers and primary school headteachers.

“If any of our teachers make a mistake, there are rules and guidelines to correct them. Physical or verbal violence is not an option,” he reiterated.

Women’s Caucus representative Rose Kiiru said the new constitution would give them the confidence to contest positions long dominated by their male counterparts and empower them to advocate for their rights.

“With the new constitution, we shall not be intimidated or discouraged by male chauvinism. We now have a voice to fight for our space,” she said.

Pauline Thangwa, a representative of teachers living with disabilities, echoed Kiiru’s sentiments, stating that the constitutional review could not have come at a better time.

“For the first time, we feel like part and parcel of the union. Our issues have not been handled well in the past. There is nothing for us without us. We support the amendments,” she said.