The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) may now resort to employing teachers on internship terms only after a move made by the Senate.
Senators have called for a freeze on teachers’ employment on permanent and pensionable terms and suggested that they instead be employed on contract to fix a shortage that the TSC puts at 111,810.
The Senate National Cohesion Committee told the TSC boss Nancy Macharia to identify legal issues that need to be addressed to allow for teachers to be employed on contract, arguing that this would allow the commission to employ more teachers with its limited budgetary allocation.
Primary school teachers on permanent terms have a starting salary of Sh35,000 while those on contract are paid a Shl5,000 “stipend”.
Those deployed to secondary schools on permanent terms start with a salary of Sh55.000 while the ones on contract are paid Sh20,000.
Mrs. Macharia said that the shortage continues to exist despite the commission having recruited 36,000 teachers earlier this year, with 47,329 needed at primary level while secondary schools lack 64,541 teachers.
“To achieve this, the commission requires an annual budgetary allocation of Shl4.8 billion for recruitment of teachers,” she said.
The TSC boss added that the commission cannot legally keep teachers on contract for too long and that they would be turned into permanent and pensionable after two years.
“We’ve never had enough teachers because we don’t have the finances. Give us the budget and we’ll recruit.” Mrs. Macharia said.
Mrs. Macharia told the committee that records of the 36,000 newly recruited teachers are being worked on and that all of them have not yet been entered into the payroll. Only the records of 20,900 teachers have been finalized.
Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago said that the Employment Act should be amended to clear any legal hurdles to allow for contractual hiring, with clear terms of payment and length of service for such teachers.
‘”We cannot be held hostage by unions. We have children who must be taught and Kenyans who need jobs,” he said.
Tharaka Nithi Senator Mahvenda Gataya said the proposal to hire on contract should be tabled before the Cabinet for approval so that those who serve a specified time are absorbed on permanent terms yearly.
The senators also called for a return to the delocalisation policy, saying when teachers are allowed to go back to their preferred home counties, some regions that do not have homegrown teachers will be understaffed.
“The commission transfers teachers who apply for transfers back to their home counties subject to availability of vacancies. As at April, the commission has effected a total of 15,824 transfers of teachers to their preferred counties,” Mrs. Macharia told the committee.
Mr Mandago criticized the National Assembly for compelling TSC to rescind the delocalisation policy. He said the move offends Article 10(2)(b) of the Constitution, which states that national values and principles of governance include “human dignity, equity, social justice, inclusiveness, equality, human rights, non discrimination and protection of the marginalised”.
‘”As the upper house, we need to revisit and veto that decision,” he said.
The Kenya Kwanza manifesto promises “to deal with the challenge faced by teachers resulting from delocalisation, we will replace this policy with a nationalisation programme which will incentivise teachers who choose to serve in other parts of the country”.
Meanwhile, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u yesterday skipped an invitation to appear before the Senate Standing Committee on Education to shed light on payment of retired teachers’ pension.
This was the fourth time he has failed to appear before the committee.
The committee will now formally summon Prof Ndung’u to respond to a petition touching on a drawn-out case on payment of teachers who retired between 1998 and 2003.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances and official commitments that require my personal immediate attention, I regretfully inform you that I am unable to attend the scheduled session as requested,” Prof Ndung’u wrote in a letter dated May 18 to the Senate clerk.
The CS skipped another meeting on May 4. At the time. he said that he had been scheduled for another meeting with the National Assembly on the same day.
He then filed a letter that said that the government had paid the teachers over Sh16 billion. Some of the retired teachers have since come out to claim that they have not received any payment.
The committee also raised concerns over learning in junior secondary schools (JSS) that do not have enough infrastructure and teachers.
“I sympathise with our JSS learners. There’s something terribly wrong. How are they being taught science where there are no labs?” asked Taita-Taveta Senator Johnes Mvaruma.
These senators should put humanity first before they think of this punitive delocalisation.Ishindwe kabisa!!
Teaching vacancies to be advertised and the young teachers will delocalise themselves in search of jobs.
Their ages advantage them to work in most places because majority do not have families.
Otherwise employing a teacher at the age of 40 years then without their consent you take them miles away from their families is not only ungodly but also Satanism of the highest level!!!!!
Employ teachers in their Young age and these problems will sort themselves out!!!!
Let teachers delocalise themselves just the way it happens in secondary schools!
Why do they want to oppress the primary school teachers simply because they are poorly paid?
Why has it been that delocalisation policy has never been effected to secondary school teachers????
Discrimination of the highest level based on how much a teacher earns!!!!!!!!!!
God have mercy on overloaded Kenyan donkey ( classroom teacher) who does a lot of work but earns little money.
So shameful of the senate, they are actually retrogressive, pulling back the gains made after so many years, I wonder what noble duty they do have apart from gaining hefty pays. They should be humans with the good heart to serve diligently
Someone earning millions reasons that with this economy, a teacher should be paid 15,000/_ so that they employ more teachers. What do they take teachers for? Are they children of a lesser God?
Someone earning millions reasons that a teacher should be paid 15,000/, at the same time should be delocalised so that they employ more teachers. What do they take teachers for? Are they children of a lesser God? Even a house help earns better than a teacher. You expect the frustrated teachers to handle a new curriculum. Total shameless members on the name of Senate.
punda amechoka
For a long time I have believed that the senate has a serious role to play. However the kind of ideas they have on issues clearly confirms why the senate is a waste of public funds. It should be disbanded and instead be given to Bunge La Mwananchi. We would rather remain with the National Assembly only.
This senator called mandago should retire he was a governor and did nothing at our home county…and now he’s a senator earning hefty salaries…if they want teachers to work on contract then let a teacher earn 800k a month we will be satisfied to work in period of 10 years and live the commission…my friend mandago we have families 20k cannot even manage my family for more than 5 days after earning it…this senators are disgrace to our Government I wish our beloved president Ruto could kill this devolution thing once and for all
Why teachers only…l think some should die and be forgotten.
I pity those who elected such a reasoning senator. He should understand that were it not for those teachers he would be keeping neighbours cattle for only 6k per months