Naivasha MP Kihara calls out alleged bias in TSC teacher recruitment

Naivasha Mp Jane Kihara (L) and her Gilgil counterpart Martha Wangari during a church service at AIPCA Church in Kinamba, Naivasha on Jan 12, 2025. [Anony Gitonga, Standard]

The ongoing recruitment of 20,000 teachers by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is skewed to favour pro-government Members of Parliament, Naivasha MP Jane Kihara has claimed.

According to Kihara, the exercise should be suspended and investigations instituted over alleged bias and skewed process.

The lawmaker alleged that the exercise has taken a political angle with some constituencies benefitting while others were locked out.

As a result of the exercise, Kihara noted that hundreds of teachers who had met the set academic standards and levels would miss out.

Kihara noted that the problem started last year when MPs who were perceived as pro-government were issued employment forms to share with teachers in their constituencies.

She added that tens of MPs who had supported impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua were locked out from the 'presidential Christmas gift.'

"It's in the public domain that the employment forms are being given to MPs who support the President and this is unfair to teachers and it is time that this was stopped," she said.

Speaking at Naivasha Day Secondary School after giving them a bus, Kihara noted that the education sector was headed for the dogs due to graft and lack of funding.

She said that tens of schools had missed out on the Junior Secondary School (JSS) classrooms, raising fears that tens of students joining grade nine could miss out.

"The issue has further been worsened by failure by the government to release capitation funds and hence many schools cannot operate," she said.

Kihara termed the University funding model as another source of concern as hundreds of students from poor families had been locked out.

"The government introduced a controversial funding model for poor students seeking to join Universities and as a result, many families are undergoing untold suffering," she said.

On his part, the School Principal Amos Gamba said that the number of students in the day school had risen from 800 to 1,500 in five years.

"We are happy that the school's academic performance has continued to improve every year and this bus will further motivate the students," he said.

The school's chairman Joseph Kibuta noted that for years parents had sought to have a bus but could not afford it due to the harsh economic times.

"This is the largest day school in Naivasha supporting hundreds of students from poor families and the support from NG-CDF has come in handy," he said.