129 Non-local Teachers Interdicted Face Panel
129 Non-local Teachers Interdicted Face Panel
As 129 non-local teachers who were formerly stationed in the North Eastern regions of Mandera, Wajir, and Garissa face disciplinary panels by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) over allegations of desertion, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) says nothing. Knut hasn’t voiced a strong objection to the Commission’s activities, despite the teacher’s cries for a transfer because of the insecurity.
The hearings, set to begin this week in the teachers’ respective counties, require them to submit academic and professional certificates, payslips, identification, and registration documents.
Teachers are instructed to bring pertinent defense materials according to the letter of interdiction, which is signed by F. Kanyoro on behalf of Commission Secretary Dr. Nancy Macharia. According to an insider, the teachers who violated TSC standards may have their salaries reimbursed for the time they were not employed after being issued warning letters. It becomes required to make financial modifications for obligations and debts. The actual duration of absence will be determined by the headteachers’ casualty reports.
TSC intervened after the teachers, who were seeking transfers from North Eastern owing to insecurity, neglected to return by September. A 14-day period of continuous absence without authorization, including weekends and holidays, is what the Commission considers desertion. Teachers picketing at TSC offices were subjected to tear gas in October, despite widespread objections.
TSC outlines a 7-point appeal process in letters to affected teachers, emphasizing defense statements within 21 days and monthly reports to the nearest TSC sub-county. TSC has initiated the replacement process and plans to deploy new teachers to Mandera, Wajir, and Garissa. CEO Nancy Macharia urges Northern Kenya teachers to apply, emphasizing an open recruitment exercise.
Macharia observes that although local educators are given priority, there is a dearth of physics and Islamic Religious Education instructors in the area. While inquiries into the interdicted teachers’ requests for transfers are being conducted, they are still suspended. Macharia guarantees that client claims be handled with due process.
