Fear of terror attack triggers teachers' mass transfers

Teachers Service Commission Ag CEO Eveleen Mitei before the National Assembly's Education Committee on teachers welfare on June 19, 2025. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Fresh fears have resurfaced in Northern Kenya following the killing of a teacher and a chief in an Al-Shabaab attack on Monday amid deafening silence of teachers’ unions in the wake of the tragedy.

Nearly 48 hours after the deadly attack at Hulugho Primary School in Garissa County, the two main teachers’ unions — the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) — were yet to issue a statement condemning the killings or outlining steps to safeguard their members.

This has angered teachers on the ground, who say they feel abandoned at the most-needed hour. “These unionists are not in touch with the realities faced by teachers in hardship and insecurity-prone regions, and their inaction could erode confidence in union representation,” a Wajir-based teacher said.

The latest incident has reignited long-standing calls by non-local teachers seeking immediate transfer from the region.

Yesterday, teachers in Garissa renewed urgent appeals to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to relocate them to safer parts of the country, citing persistent insecurity and repeated terror attacks targeting educators perceived to be outsiders.

Meshack Sifuna Makwara, a teacher at the same school, said their safety could no longer be guaranteed after the killing of their colleague, Stephen Musili.

“One of ou  own has been killed in cold blood and up until now we have not been told anything. We want to ask TSC to transfer us from here to a safe place. We are ready to work with TSC, but as teachers we cannot continue working in this region. As we speak, we do not even know where we will spend the night,” Makwara said.

The attack has reopened deep wounds in Northern Kenya, where violence against teachers has occasionally disrupted education and other services.

Over the years, non-local teachers have been singled out in terror attacks, forcing mass transfers, prolonged school closures and chronic understaffing in affected areas.

Similarly, push by teachers in the region for transfers has seen victimisation by the employer TSC, who instead has, in various stages, chosen to interdict and suspend teachers who fail to report to schools as they fear for their lives.

In 2023, the teachers' employer interdicted 60 teachers without salary after a standoff when the teachers refused to return to schools in terror-prone counties of Wajir, Mandera, and Garissa. TSC raised concerns over the safety of teachers working in north-eastern regions.

The commission warn that persistent insecurity continues to threaten lives, disrupt learning and deepen education inequalities in some of the country’s most marginalised areas.

TSC chairperson Jamleck Muturi said the commission has activated a multi-agency security framework involving key government institutions and security agencies to address the escalating threats.

“The issue of the security and safety of teachers is now being handled within the framework of a multi-agency team comprising key government institutions, including the security agencies,” Muturi said.

He urged host communities, religious leaders and society at large to support teachers serving in high-risk areas, noting that many continue to work under extreme conditions out of dedication and commitment to the profession.

TSC Chief Executive Officer Eveleen Mitei condemned the attack, saying it not only robbed a young teacher of his life but also undermined the right to education and peace. “The commission takes the safety and security of teachers seriously and will offer all the necessary support to improve the welfare of its employees. This heinous and cowardly act undermines the right to education, peace and security for teachers and learners alike,” Mitei said.

Muesli’s death comes just days after another educator, Hillary Ochieng Minudi, a lecturer at Garissa Teachers.

Training College, was stabbed to death on January 24, 2026, in Garissa town’s Bulla Mzuri area. His killing triggered protests among educators and heightened fears within the teaching fraternity.

In 2023, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, then Interior Cabinet Secretary, said insecurity in ASAL regions has claimed the lives of at least 36 teachers and injured eight others over the past decade.

Appearing before MPs, Kindiki said the deaths and injuries were largely a result of attacks by Al-Shabaab militants, with teachers frequently targeted in schools, police camps and along major transport routes.

Since 2012, several deadly incidents have been recorded, including the killing of teachers at Gerille Police Post in Wajir South, Shafshafey Primary School in Mandera East, and Arabia Boys Secondary School, where two teachers were shot dead and their bodies burned beyond recognition in 2018.

In 2014, 18 teachers lost their lives when a bus travelling from Mandera to Nairobi was ambushed in Arabia subcounty.