The Secretary-General of the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), Akelo Misori, was forced to cut short his speech after being heckled in front of President William Ruto.

Misori was addressing a gathering on Saturday, September 13, during a meeting of over 10,000 teachers hosted by President Ruto at State House.

He was advocating for a review of the policy that domiciles Junior Secondary School (JSS) in primary schools under the Competency-Based Education (CBE)—a policy that KUPPET wants reconsidered. Misori proposed the transfer of Junior Secondary School (JSS) from primary schools to secondary schools.

However, his remarks did not sit well with members and officials from the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) who were also in attendance. They began to heckle him, prompting Misori to end his speech prematurely.

“Some of the education frameworks that have come into our education sub-sector require serious interrogation. One such is that as much as we have more access and more affordability of learners in our junior schools, something that was ignored and must be interrogated further is the domiciling of Junior School in Primary School,” he said, drawing applause from KUPPET members.

However, KNUT officials began heckling in response to his comments. “I must say this because one element—” Misori attempted to continue before being interrupted again, ultimately forcing him to abandon the rest of his address.

Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok was then compelled to intervene and restore order among the teachers. “We have heard you members. His Excellency has heard you, let’s be quiet, please,” he pleaded with the teachers.

This was before Misori resumed his speech, further advocating for increased funding to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to support teachers’ promotions.

PS Bitok had on Wednesday morning chaired a consultative meeting with teachers’ unions and head teachers’ associations at Jogoo House to prepare for Saturday’s meeting.

The two-hour session centred on setting the agenda for the high-level talks and finalising the composition of the 10,000-member teachers’ delegation that met President Ruto.

In attendance were senior officials from KNUT, KUPPET, the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET), the Kenya Primary School Heads Association (KEPSHA), and the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA).