Teachers Service Commission critisised for locking out graduates in recruitment drive

By Eric Lungai

VIHIGA, KENYA: Vihiga MP Yusuf Chanzu has criticised the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for setting up unrealistic benchmark in this year’s primary school teachers’ recruitment.

Chanzu said that locking out many of the primary school teachers who had graduated earlier is creation of unnecessary backlog.

“The TSC is not realistic in locking out the teachers who graduated in the year 2006. It is not their fault that they graduated on that year, when there were many hitches and changes to the curriculum,” he said.

Chanzu who is also a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Education said that it were better had the TSC absorbed the group fully than leaving them behind, in favor of those who graduated in 2007.

He noted that if the TSC finds the 2006 group of teachers weak, they should blame the examination bodies and the relevant education offices that were responsible for that.

“There is no year that the students set their own curriculum and thus their performance in the exams cannot be blamed on them. Instead, the education offices should take blame,” he said.

In Vihiga County, 105 primary teachers were recruited in the concluded exercise, with the education officers saying that the number was too small to satisfy the need on the ground.

Paul Kokello, the TSC director in the County said that the number of the teachers that have been employed is only a drop in the ocean and the government should consider increasing the budgetary allocation for the commission so that more are employed.

“The shortage that we have is such big and most schools are forced to incur extra expenses as they look for teachers who can fill the gap,” said Mr Kokello.  

Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Hamisi Branch secretary Nathaniel Shibira said that the entire county needed more than 1000 teachers in the primary schools alone.

Shibira further added that many of the teachers who applied to be considered for employment had raised concerns over the unfair marking system introduced by the TSC.

“Complaints come in plenty but we have advised the teachers to calm down as we seek for means of dealing with the problem in the near future,” he said.