Junior school teachers and their unions have renewed calls for the government to grant the learning level full independence, arguing that the current structure under primary schools undermines their professional growth and the quality of education.

The Kenya Association of Junior School Teachers, the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), and more than 50,000 tutors are demanding that junior schools be recognised as a distinct tier, separate from both primary and senior schools.

They say the existing arrangement, which places junior schools under the management of primary school administrators, has created conflicts and denied them fair opportunities in career progression.

“A good example is promotions. How can a headteacher, deputy head teacher or senior teacher—who does not even qualify to teach in junior school—supervise junior school teachers?” asked association chairperson James Odhiambo.

He explained that most primary school heads lack the qualifications to teach junior school learners, yet they continue to oversee teachers trained at post-primary level.

“This often causes friction between junior school staff and the primary school administration,” Odhiambo said.

He noted that teachers in junior schools face stagnation because there is no clear scheme of service or career progression guidelines.

Odhiambo added that junior school tutors are trained to handle post-primary learners but are being forced to work in structures that give more priority to primary school staff.

“We are appealing to the Ministry of Education and the Teachers Service Commission to grant junior schools administrative autonomy, in line with the recommendations of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform,” he said.

He also accused the current school system of sidelining junior school teachers.

“Junior school teachers are often sidelined because most of the staff within the current school structure are primary school teachers. Junior school is a transitional stage where learners begin career pathway-based learning. It requires special attention, which is not being given under the current system that treats junior schools as an extension of primary schools,” he said.

Kuppet Deputy Secretary-General Moses Nthurima dismissed the “comprehensive school” model, questioning its legal basis.

“Kenyan education law only recognises pre-primary, primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. So, where is the ministry getting the term ‘comprehensive school’? Under the Competency-Based Curriculum, junior school is meant to be part of high school—or at the very least, operate distinctly from primary level,” he said.

Nthurima added that graduate teachers expected to work within secondary institutions, not under the supervision of P1-trained teachers.

“When graduate teachers are subjected to supervision by P1 teachers, it contradicts their legitimate professional expectations. These teachers trained with the understanding that they would work alongside their peers in secondary schools,” he said.

However, Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary-General Collins Oyuu urged the junior school tutors to accept the recommendations of the education reforms task force.

“Do you know that 90 per cent of our head teachers are graduates? Many were graduates long before some of these teachers even entered the profession. In leadership, qualifications alone don’t count, experience does. Do they even have leadership experience?” he asked.

Oyuu dismissed the autonomy push as misplaced, saying the issue was already addressed by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform.

“The task force clearly defined two sections within Basic Education: comprehensive school (grades 1–9) and senior school (grades 10–12). Let’s stop making wild proposals. They are teachers and professionals; they should avoid activism,” he said.

Despite the opposition, the association said it will keep pushing for junior school autonomy through continued engagement with policymakers, education stakeholders, and the public until the level is formally recognised as independent.