TSC To Re-introduce Teacher Delocalization Policy; Senate
TSC’s five-year-old teacher delocalization policy may return.
Senators criticized the National Assembly for rescinding delocalization and allowed teachers to return home.
After TSC CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia answered Senate National Cohesion Committee questions on teacher recruitment and transfers, the Senators spoke.
However, the Senators advocated for a return to the delocalisation strategy, arguing that allowing teachers to return to their home counties will leave regions without native instructors understaffed.
The commission returns teachers to their home counties if there are openings. “As of April, the commission has transferred 15,824 teachers to their preferred counties,” Mrs. Macharia told the committee.
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Committee chair Mr. Mandago condemned the National Assembly for forcing TSC to retract the delocalisation program.
The move violates Article 10(2)(b) of the Constitution, which specifies that national values and principles of governance include “human dignity, equity, social justice, inclusiveness, equality, human rights, non discrimination and protection of the marginalised”.
He urged the upper house should reconsider and veto that decision.
“To deal with the challenge faced by teachers resulting from delocalisation, we will replace this policy with a nationalisation programme which will incentivise teachers who choose to serve in other parts of the country,” the Kenya Kwanza platform states.
Many teachers have returned home. TSC has made many regional and interregional transfers.
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Some teachers remain. Over 50 elementary school teachers camped outside Tharaka Nithi County TSC office in Chuka town last week requesting transfers to their home sub-counties.
After President William Ruto abolished the delocalisation policy, teachers from Tharaka North, Tharaka South, and Chiakariga sub-counties applied to return to their native sub-counties.
After submitting their transfer letters to the Tharaka Nithi County TSC office, they were informed that only Igambang’ombe, Maara, and Chuka sub-counties had vacancies.
Teachers told the media they would stay at the county TSC office until they got their goal. Protests closed the office.
A Kitui County teacher from Tharaka North sub-county stated their bosses are taking their buddies to schools with as few as four teachers in Tharaka North, Tharaka South, and Chiakariga sub-counties because of hardship allowance.
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He added they had evidence that instructors from other counties have exploited corruption to be transferred to hardship areas, disadvantaging local teachers.
“We applied to be transferred to schools near our homes for various reasons and will not accept to be deployed in other counties,” he stated.
Mrs. Jane Mwangi, from Tharaka South, who teaches in Meru County, said most young teachers wanted transfers to schools near their homes to reunite with their spouses and start families.
Due to low compensation, most teachers’ marriages have failed.
She noted that some teachers are transferring from difficulty areas and have large loans that they cannot serve without the hardship stipend.
“Someone like me, I am married but I have never enjoyed married life because I have been working away from my spouse,” said Mrs. Mwangi.
Mr. Mutinda Muriungi, who works in Tigania East in Meru County, claimed the county TSC director had refused to address them and that they would camp outside her office until she heard their screams.
Kenya National Union Teachers (Knut) Tharaka Nithi County chapter executive secretary Njeru Mutani and Tharaka constituency executive secretary Ndia Gwatia joined the teachers on Tuesday morning and demanded their demands.
Mr. Mutani, Knut’s national trustee, said the teachers must be brought home to care for their families after working away for years.
“Teachers are paid very little and they cannot survive away from their homes where they are compelled to rent houses,” said Mr. Mutani.
Mr. Gwatia criticized the county TSC office for sending teachers from beyond Tharaka South, Tharaka North, and Chiakariga sub-counties, disadvantaging locals.
“Teachers from other sub-counties and even the neighboring Meru and Embu counties are requesting to be taken to Tharaka South, Tharaka North, and Chiakariga sub-counties because of the hardship allowances, but the locals must be given priority,” stated Mr. Gwatia.
Mr. Gwatia claimed the county TSC director Rosemary Sokotian, who is away from the office, promised to resolve the issue quickly.
The county deputy TSC director was unreachable.
TSC To Re-introduce Teacher Delocalization Policy; Senate
