Nepotism Rock TSC’s Teachers Recruitment As KNUT, KUPPET Demand Answers
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and two trade unions have clashed over the recruitment of teachers in Bomet County.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) both claimed that deep-rooted nepotism tainted the hiring process, with candidates from a neighboring country being hired at the expense of locals.
“It is unfortunate that some senior TSC officers in Sotik sub-county have tilted the rules to favour their kinsmen in the recruitment, locking out deserving locals. It is a matter that the TSC headquarters needs to address with urgency,” said Mr Mathias Langat, the Sotik Knut branch secretary.
Some of those locked out had met the requirements to be shortlisted, according to Kuppet Bomet branch chairman Paul Kimeto, while those hired were recent college graduates.
“We have cases where candidates who graduated several years back and are 44 years old were locked out when they should have been given preference as required by the rules and policy governing the recruitment exercise, while those who graduated recently were taken,” Mr Kimeto claimed.
Mr Kimeto and Mr Langat said they had raised the issue with the local TSC offices in the face of mounting pressure and protests from locked-out candidates.
Adow Bardad, TSC Rift Valley Regional Director, has written to Bomet County TSC Director Mary Kola Kalinga, demanding answers to the unions’ concerns.
The letter dated July 24 confirmed that the trade unions had raised concerns about the recruitment process.
Mr Bardad’s letter stated, “You are required to confirm the accuracy of the reports… and brief this office on the actions taken.”
Officers from the regional TSC offices were reportedly dispatched to the county to investigate the incident.
Ms Kola was not available for comment yesterday because she was said to be on sick leave.
“It is very clear that there was manipulation in the recruitment process, with the officers involved well known,” Mr Langat said.
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“It is not the first time this is happening as a senior officer in the department was transferred last year following protests from teachers and education stakeholders on similar grounds.”
The unionists claimed that the problem was systemic and that the TSC headquarters needed to address it once and for all because the officers on the ground were tarnishing the organization’s image.
The country is experiencing a severe teacher shortage, with more than 300,000 qualified but unemployed professionals applying to the TSC each year.
TSC CEO Nancy Macharia recently acknowledged that there is a teacher shortage of over 100,000 in public schools.
Dr. Macharia noted that the TSC was financially constrained, and he urged lawmakers to increase funding for the agency in order to hire new teachers.
Nepotism Rock TSC’s Teachers Recruitment As KNUT, KUPPET Demand Answers