Teachers vow not to resume work in North Eastern as TSC threatens to sack them

Kuppet Chairman Omboko Milemba (right) and Vice Chairman Julius Korir
with teachers from Mandera, Wajir and Garissa demonstrating outside TSC
offices in Nairobi demanding transfers following insecurity in the area.
[PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

NAIROBI: After trooping to their employer’s doorstep for a week, an estimated 2,000 teachers from terror-prone spots in North Eastern region Tuesday declared they would not go back to their stations, reinforcing a stand-off with their employer who has warned they will be fired if they don’t return to work.

The teachers vowed to defy the return-to-work order by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and dared the Government to sack them, insisting they could not risk their safety for teaching posts.

Their position compounded relations between them and the county governments of the affected regions and TSC.

Trouble started in November when 24 teachers were gunned down by suspected Al-Shabaab militants as they were heading home for the Christmas holidays.

In a brief to the media Tuesday, the teachers pointed out the statement released by National Assembly Majority Leader Adan Duale, 'worsened the matter as he was not conciliatory.'

On Tuesday, Duale and other political leaders held a meeting with TSC and Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Nkaissery at Harambee House Nairobi and directed the teachers to go back to work on Monday or be replaced.

READ: Resume work or lose jobs, NEP leaders tell teachers

The teachers' reaction was swift: "We are deeply shocked and saddened by the statement by North Eastern Leaders threatening us to return to work. In any case, they should have rooted for dialogue and reconciliation to resolve the matter".

The teachers also declared they will not be moved by threats by TSC to replace them noting that nothing can be traded for their security."The issues raised by these teachers are valid and no amount of threats can move us. We would rather be jobless than go back to harsh working environment," read the document.

Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary General Wilson Sossion accused North Eastern leaders of turning their backs against the teachers. "They have engaged in media war yet the teachers who have served diligently in their regions are raising pertinent issues," argued Sossion.

GENUINE CASES

He said no teacher shall return to the disputed regions until their issues were addressed. "We shall stand by all the teachers and I can assure you that none will be sacked because they are raising genuine cases," he assured.

One of the teachers Tuesday told The Standard that his colleagues now fear returning after media highlighted their pictures. "Some of these teachers have been seen on television and newspapers. This means the locals have marked them and they are likely to be victims when they return. They rather loose their jobs than return," said one of the teachers from Mandera.

Duale led North Eastern leaders including Mandera Governor Ali Roba and Eldas MP Adan Keynan in demanding that the teachers resume work immediately. "We have asked TSC to advertise the slots so that other Kenyans can be employed," said Duale.

TSC immediately released a statement asking the teachers stationed in Wajir, Garissa and Mandera to report to work not later than February 2, 2015.

TSC Secretary Gabriel Lengoiboni warned,"...failure to which disciplinary measures will be initiated without any further reference to the teachers."

He also said that newly-recruited teachers in the three counties who fail to report to their workstations by February 3, 2015 shall lose their places.

The new recruits were scheduled to report by January 5, 2015.

Lengoiboni at the same time instructed TSC county directors in the affected counties to take daily roll call of all the teachers and submit daily returns. "The returns should be received at the TSC Headquarters by February 3, 2015," reads the statement.

Statistics from the TSC reveal that non-indigenous staff outnumber the local teachers in the three counties.

In Mandera, there are some 1,406 teachers. Of these, 607 are from the local community while 799 are external.

Wajir County has 1,355 teachers of whom 694 are from the local community while 661 are from outside the county.

Garissa has 1,328 teachers with 964 from outside the county. Only 364 are from the local community.

Cumulatively, there are some 4,089 teachers in the three counties. More than half of these teachers are not from the local communities.

Lengoiboni assured the Government was committed to ensuring security of all employees."Security has been beefed up in the affected areas. Additional long-term security programmes are being implemented to secure the entire country," he said.

KUPPET'S TAKE

Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers Secretary General Akelo Misori said justice must be seen to be done for the teachers. "You cannot keep on threatening teachers every time they raise issues affecting them. Engage them," he said.

Minutes of a meeting held between TSC and the teachers' representatives indicates that insecurity is not the only reason the teachers have staged the protest.

Management of national examinations in the three counties, discrimination against non-local teachers and lack of say in the leadership of public schools is at the heart of discontent.

The document seen by The Standard indicate social issues dominate the list of the teachers concerns.

"They pay more in rent than the locals. For instance, a non-local teacher paying Sh5,000 as rent while a teachers from the local community would pay Sh1,500," reads the document.

The document dubbed 'Insecurity concerns of teachers from North Eastern Counties' also cites management of national examinations as another insecurity concern. "National examination season is a matter of life and death. Whenever teachers expose cases of cheating they are threatened," the document reveals.