Members of the Kalenjin community make the majority of the recently hired 36,000 teachers by the Teachers Service Commission, an interim report to Parliament shows.
According to the report tabled by Teachers Service Commission CEO Nancy Macharia said the report is for 20,990 teachers out of the 36,000 that were recruited in January.
“At the time of preparing this report, 20,990 newly recruited teachers were on payroll from diverse ethnic groups,” Macharia told the National Assembly’s Cohesion and Equal Opportunity Committee.
“Records are still being upgraded,” she added.
From the TSC documents, the Kalenjin community got the highest number of slots followed by other big tribes like Luhya, Kikuyu, Kamba, Luo and Kisii.
The commission’s report shows that 4,048 Kelenjins were recruited, Luhya (3,187), Kikuyu (2,913), Luo (2,576) and Kisii (1,737).
At the bottom of the list were Kenya Arabs, Elmolo and Murulle communities getting one slot each.
Ogaden, Dorobo, Rendille, Sakuye each got two slots.
From the report, the 20,990 teaching slots were shared amongst 36 out of 42 official tribes meaning some six communities did not manage to get even a single slot.
Kasipul MP Charles Were who is a member of the committee demanded a detailed report even as he sought explanation why some communities are ‘over-employed’ by the commission.
Ong’ondo said the teaching profession has suffered historical injustices where some communities have been sidelined.
“We need names of these people and even the staff register. We want to see if you are correcting historical injustices in employment at the commission,” he stated.
Laikipia Woman Representative Jane Kagiri said the committee should be told where the 36,000 teachers have been posted.
She added that the commission should also consider deploying adequate teachers to special schools.
“You have done well by employing all PWDs who applied. You also need to consider the plight of children with special needs,” she said.
Macharia asked for more time to provide a detailed report of all the 36,000 newly recruited teachers in June after the commission concludes updating its records.
The age distribution ranges between 21 to 56 years with the majority being 28 years old.
She added that 43 per cent of those recruited were female while 57 per cent were male.
Macharia said the commission recruited all Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) who applied for employment.
“In this recruitment, all person with disability who applied for recruitment totaling 229 were recruited,” she stated.
The PWDs had various forms of disability; albinism (2), epilepsy (12), hearing impairment (40), mental impairment (2), physical disabilities (120) and visual impairment (53).
Macharia said the commission had issued instructions that all PWDs who applied be given first chance during recruitment.
She said the commission has not provided adequate teachers to special schools because of financial constraints.
“Since we do have the money, we have been treating special schools as disadvantaged areas so that they get above what we give other schools,” she explained
The TSC boss further informed the lawmakers that the commission will recruit an additional 20, 000 teachers in the next financial year if their budget proposal is approved by the National Assembly.
This will be the second major recruitment after the January hiring that saw a record 36,000 hired.
“I have been told that we will be able to recruit 20000 more teachers but I will have to wait and see,” Macharia said.
Macharia was appraising the committee on the ethnic composition of the 36,000 teachers listed by TSC in January.
The committee chaired by Mandera West MP Yusuf Adan has been undertaking ethnic audit of state agencies to ensure they comply with the law.
