The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has started to convene transfer panels to approve pending transfers for delocalized teachers.
The panels will also approve transfers for teachers seeking change of station within sub counties and zones.
The TSC sub county director who chairs transfer boards in sub county will approve, together with curriculum support officers (CSO’s) within his zones, transfer of teachers within his/her sub county.
TSC County Directors will chair panels that will approve transfers within a county while TSC Regional Directors will chair approval for transfers within a region (former provinces).
Inter region transfers will be approved by the TSC transfer boards based at the headquarters in Upper Hill, Nairobi.
TSC officials had early in September asked teachers seeking transfers back to their home counties to apply early before the approvals begin.
TSC plans to start approvals of teachers transfer requests in December this year which will culminate to release of transfer letters in January.
The Commission was forced to respond after mass enquiries by delocalized teachers whose transfer requests had remained in pending status for months.
The teachers were anticipating for transfers when schools reopened for third term. The teachers protested to the TSC when the transfers they had applied were not approved.
In a statement the Commission responded saying it has suspended transfers for delocalized teachers in the months of April and August.
TSC said the approval of delocalized teachers transfers will be done only once in a year unlike in the previous years.
The TSC transfer boards will approve the teachers online transfer applications in December before the teachers are issued with their transfer letters in January.
The Commission says it made the decision to minimize disruptions with schooling activities and national exams.
The transfer approvals start as the KCSE exams ended. The re-routing of the teachers back home will happen in January.
The teacher delocalization program was a policy initiated by TSC that saw teachers being posted to work in schools outside their home counties.
The first casuality of the policy were classroom teachers who were first recruited and posted to far away counties in 2016. This was then followed by practicing headteachers and principals.
However the program was quashed by the Kenya Kwanza government and on 25th January 2023, the National Assembly Speaker, Moses Wetang’ula, ruled that the delocalization policy is illegal as it lacked parliamentary approval.
TSC gave in by revoking the policy and started to transfer the teachers back to their home counties.
At regional level teachers are moved from one county to another county within same region. TSC Regional Directors are in charge of such transfers.
TSC transfer boards at national level are responsible for approving transfers for teachers seeking to be moved to counties outside their stationed regions.
Around 26,871 teachers are seeking to be transferred back to their home counties. The teachers were unsuccessful in the previous mass transfers due to lack of suitable placements.
As of June 30 last year, some 46,926 primary and secondary school teachers had requested to be transferred back to their home counties, but only 20,055 were transferred back.
The commission transfer policy ensures that the station a teacher is leaving has a suitable replacement and that there is a vacancy in the preferred station before effecting a transfer request.
Before a teacher is transferred TSC ensures that there are suitable vacancies, replacements and a balance of staff before the transfer is approved.
Former Education CS Mr Ezekiel Machogu when he appeared in Parliament in June noted that TSC, in the exercise of its mandate to transfer and post teachers, it has “to ensure equitable distribution and optimal utilisation of teachers in all public basic education institutions to ensure that learners throughout the country have access to quality education as required by Article 43 of the Constitution.”
“Teachers who wish to be considered for transfer from one institution to another must submit a request. The transfer of teachers from one institution to another will be guided by the need for equitable distribution and optimum utilisation of teachers,” the CS said.
Other transfer criteria include the availability of vacancies in the proposed station, the need for replacement, existing staffing norms, medical reasons or other reasons that the TSC may consider.
Delocalized teachers can check the online TSC transfer application portal on the status of their applied transfers.
Successful teachers will have to visit their TSC County offices to pick their transfer letters and report to their new station in January.
TERMS RELATED TO TSC ONLINE TRANSFER YOU SHOULD KNOW
Pending: This is displayed once the teacher’s application is successfully delivered awaiting remarks from respective supervisors.
Acknowledged: This is displayed if the teacher is eligible for transfer and awaiting the availability of vacancy and or the teacher’s suitable replacement.
Not Approved: This is same as when the teacher’s request is regretted. This is applicable if the teacher has not met conditions set as per the transfer policy for example having not served in the current station for a period of not less than five years since first appointment, lack of suitable replacement or vacancy.
Approved: This is displayed after the transfer committee approves the teachers transfer request. The teachers transfer letter is then issued through the Principal in the case of post primary institutions and through the County Director in the case of primary school.
NOTE When a transfer request is withdrawn it simply means it was not successful or was successful and a new one can now be placed.