School heads hit out at TSC over sacking threats

Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) has asked the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to stop intimidating school heads over the teachers’ strike.

The association’s national chairman, Mr John Awiti, criticised the TSC which has said it will take action against head teachers for failing to open the schools that they head for the third term.

Awiti confirmed at a speech in Kisumu Girls High School that some head teachers, especially those from Homa Bay County, had received show-cause letters.

“Head teachers have no authority over teachers when their unions call out a strike. TSC should deal with the challenge and avoid dragging school heads into this mess,” said Awiti. He ridiculed the TSC  which he said had issued a warning letter to a head teacher who was no longer alive.

“A head teacher from Homa Bay, who died in July and was buried in August 2015,  is being told to show cause. Another teacher who was transferred to another school is also being asked to show cause in his previous station; this means something is wrong with TSC records,” said Awiti.

The association’s vice chair Kahi Indimuli said head teachers should not be used as soft targets every time there was a standoff with the TSC.

“We are being seen by other teachers as traitors who do not want to join in the strike while our employer also feels that we are not doing enough to ensure teachers stay in school,” he lamented.

Warning letters

The teacher’s employer announced last Tuesday that it had served 5,000 head teachers with show-cause letters for absenteeism, negligence and insubordination.

“We have commenced the disciplinary process. The commission has appealed the payment dispute and we have to wait for the appeal case which will be heard on September 22 this month,” TSC chairperson Lydia Nzomo said.

The head teachers  criticised the government for failing to release funds for the subsidised secondary school education.

Speaking separately at Oyugis town in Homa Bay County, the teachers’ unions said instructors would not go back to school until they receive the pay increase awarded by the court.

Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Homa Bay county chair Eliud Ombori and the area Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) Executive Secretary Stephen Yogo said they had obtained letters from TSC  warning that disciplinary action would be taken against principals and head teachers participating in the ongoing strike.

The letters, which carried signature of the County TSC Director Diosiana Ahindukha, read, ‘You are therefore required to show cause why disciplinary action should not be taken against you since you did not open your school on September 31, 2015.’

However, Ms Ahindukha denied writing  letters to a dead teacher and those who had been transferred.

“I am aware of the show-cause letters which I wrote to the current school heads in my county. Someone must have forged my letters due to differences we have,” said Ahindukha.