MPs to Meet TSC to Address Fate of 129 Interdicted Teachers: Transfers of 3,200 Non-Local Teachers Ruled Out
Members of Parliament will meet with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) the following week to discuss the fate of 129 teachers who were interdicted after refusing to resume duty in North Eastern due to security concerns.
On Thursday, October 19, at County Hall in Nairobi, during the hearing of a petition by the impacted teachers, Tinderet MP Julius Melly, who chairs the National Assembly Committee on Education, made the announcement.
He stated that the meeting will be held on Tuesday to seek a resolution to the impasse after the teachers demanded a transfer and pledged not to return to the region prone to terrorist attacks.
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Mr. Melly emphasized that when someone is insecure, they shouldn’t be interdicted but rather listened to. He noted that they have also engaged with some leaders from the region who expressed their support.
Additionally, they called on the government to intensify the fight against insecurity. Although he ruled out a mass transfer of the approximately 3,200 non-local teachers, Mr. Melly stated that those most at risk should be relocated.
The security situation in Garissa, Wajir, and Mandera counties has improved, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu said yesterday, urging teachers to return to their work stations.
During the meeting with the members of parliament, the instructors stated that they are the target of attacks because they are not from the region.
In addition to their vulnerability, they claimed that the locals discriminated against them because of their ethnic and religious backgrounds. They informed the MPs that they were willing to operate in any region of the country.
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Mr. Charles Achol, who read the petition on behalf of the other teachers, pleaded with the committee for assistance in rescinding their interdiction letters, restoring their incomes, and effecting their transfers.
Al Shabaab, which remains active along the border with Somalia and in the three counties, is responsible for the assaults.
During a meeting chaired by a deputy county commissioner, Mr. Achol reported that teachers in certain areas contributed funds to compensate National Police Reservists for protection.
As evidence, he provided M-Pesa messages showing that the official had received payment.
Additionally, the teachers presented medical documentation indicating that some of them have developed mental health problems.
Mr. Machogu stated during the 29th commencement ceremony at the Kenya Institute of Special Education that the government has taken the necessary measures to increase security in the region.
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“Given these positive developments, I strongly encourage teachers in northern Kenya to resume their duties in schools,” said the president.
The teachers, however, informed the legislators that non-local teachers in remote rural areas are the most affected. They asserted that owners of residential buildings are reluctant to rent them space out of fear of militant attacks.
Attached to the petition was an intelligence report indicating that non-local instructors were a target of the militants.
A security brief from Wajir County Directorate of Criminal Investigations Officer Harrun Chabari, dated September 24, 2023, indicates that AS (al-Shabaab) Amniyats have identified and cased soft targets within Habaswein and neighboring sub-counties.
The targets include non-local teachers, the Kenya Power plant in Habaswein, civil servants, communication masts, police stations, and buses plying Mandera-Wajir-Garissa-Nairobi routes.
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A letter from the TSC to one of the teachers acknowledges the request for a transfer out of the North Eastern region.
However, the TSC declines the request, citing the lack of a suitable replacement.
The teacher must report to their workstation by Thursday, September 7, 2023, or they will face disciplinary action.
Teachers have petitioned Parliament to transfer them out of the region, claiming their lives are in peril as they fight the TSC’s ban.
One of the teachers, as per a TSC letter, abandoned their duties from 08/09/2023 to the present date.
As a consequence, the TSC interdicted them on 22/09/2023. The teacher has also received an invitation to submit a written defense statement within 21 days from the letter’s date before the TSC proceeds to assess and resolve their case.
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Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu stated last week at Mandera teachers Training College that the government will hire more instructors in the North Eastern region in order to provide quality education to students.
Mr. Machogu stated at the inauguration of the Mandera County Education Task Force report that, in the near future, the North Eastern region should be self-sufficient in teachers due to the expansion of local training institutions.
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MPs to Meet TSC to Address Fate of 129 Interdicted Teachers: Transfers of 3,200 Non-Local Teachers Ruled Out