TSC Reinstates Interdicted Non-Local Teachers, Orders Them Back to North Eastern
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has reinstated primary and secondary school tutors who were suspended months ago and has ordered them to return to their classrooms in the Northeastern area on January 8, 2024.
Non-local teachers had refused to return to their classrooms, citing safety concerns. Since August, teachers in Wajir, Mandera, and Garissa counties have been requesting transfer due to al-Shabaab threats and attacks.
They were dealt a setback in September when the TSC refused to relocate them. The commission stated that it was unable to meet the demand due to a lack of qualified substitutes.
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The TSC then ordered the teachers to return to their workstations by September 7, 2023, or face disciplinary action. Some of the teachers returned to their classrooms, but about 100 remained steadfast in their refusal to return.
Teachers who refused to return to their workstations were interdicted, and their salaries were halted. Despite the fact that the National Assembly had warned the teachers’ employer not to take action against the group.
Julius Melly, head of the National Assembly Education Committee, advised TSC not to interdict or halt their salaries. He claimed that the teachers had legitimate grievances and that they needed to be relocated to other areas.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua intervened in the situation two weeks ago. Mr. Gachagua stated that the teachers who departed the region should not face disciplinary action.
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Gachagua stated during the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Annual Delegates Conference in Nairobi that he would speak with the TSC and encourage it not to condemn the teachers in question.
Mr. Gachagua conveyed that when there was an issue with teachers in northern Kenya and some individuals were advocating for their dismissal, he advised the TSC not to take such action.
Gachagua emphasized that people running for their lives should not be punished. The DP went on to say that the government has taken precautions to protect the lives of teachers and other Northeastern people.
Despite this, teachers got letters from the commission asking them to return to their schools.
The commission has decided to post you to Mandera County, effective from January 8, 2024. You are expected to report to the new station within 14 days from the effective date for the assignment of duties.
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The TSC County Director is requested to inform this office of the date you report for duty, as stated in the letter dated December 22, 2023.
The TSC drafted these letters following the cases of the teachers heard at its headquarters in Nairobi last week. The letter further states that in the case of an appeal, you are required to report to your new station while awaiting the decision of the commission.
Some of the teachers interviewed stated that they would not be returning to their schools as ordered.
A teacher expressed the stance that the TSC should not expect them to return to the specified location. The teacher cited a narrow escape from a life-threatening attack as the reason, questioning the wisdom of testing fate once again.
The teacher added that if the region is as safe as portrayed, the TSC headquarters should be relocated to Garrisa, Mandera, or Wajir. If the commission insists on him returning Mandera, the father of three says he would resign and look for another job.
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The tutor was hired in 2021 and assigned to a school just a few kilometers from the Somalia border. He went on to say that life became difficult when al-Shabaab fighters began targeting non-locals in the neighborhood.
The teacher claimed that in July 2023, al-Shabaab militants stormed his neighborhood, killing his colleague and numerous police officers stationed at Wargadud.
“The colleague ran to the police station but my students hid me in the village,” he went on to say.
“Can you imagine being murdered inside a police station?” “How safe is that area?” According to the TSC, there are 3,227 non-local teachers working in the three Northeastern counties.
There are 1,387 locals teaching in primary and secondary schools in Mandera County and 889 non-local teachers in the county. There are 2,276 TSC teachers in Mandera.
Non-locals make up 1,221 of the 2,223 teachers stationed in Wajir County, while 808 locals and 1,136 teachers from other regions work in Garissa.
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Collins Oyuu, Secretary General of Knut, has been asking officials in Wajir, Mandera, and Garissa, as well as the national government, to devise a strategy for recruiting people from the region as teachers.
TSC Reinstates Interdicted Non-Local Teachers, Orders Them Back to North Eastern
