The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has been forced to cancel transfers involving three of its Regional Directors (RDs) following ‘orders from above’.
As a result, the transfers conducted in early May this year in a bid to boost service delivery at its field offices are now lying in limbo as officers who had already reported to their new stations were recalled in a huff.
Education News has learnt that Elijah Omwenga, who had been deployed to the TSC headquarters from Central, where he was serving as the RD, will not be moving from his station after all. This decision has meant that the transfer of Victoria Muoka from Western to Central has had to be suspended, effectively throwing the entire exercise into disarray.
It is now understood that Muoka has been placed in an awkward position, as she will be required to return to Kakamega to continue her duties despite having bid farewell to teachers and education stakeholders in the region.
Also affected in this strange development is John Nzuvu, who had been promoted to RD level and deployed to Western to replace Muoka. TSC has had to retain him at headquarters following this confusion. Nzuvu was previously the Deputy Director in the Teacher Professional Management department before earning his promotion.
Omwenga, a seasoned TSC staffer, has served in Nyeri for close to 8 years, having worked initially as the County TSC Director. He was later promoted to RD and retained at the same station.
These unprecedented developments are happening at a time when TSC commissioners arrogated to themselves powers to decide on the deployment, transfer and promotion of field officers as well as all school administrators. This is a complete departure from the normal procedure, as such functions are usually handled by technocrats in the TSC Staffing department, in conjunction with field officers responsible for teacher management.
In the recent changes made in May, Hassan Abukar was promoted from county director to RD and deployed to Eastern RD. Hassan, who was Makueni TSC Director, replaced Wilson Koros, who was the acting RD. The latter was transferred to take over as the new TSC Director in Laikipia. Also moved was Japeth Kariuki, who was serving as the Nyanza RD and posted as the new Nyeri TSC Director.
Others affected in those movements are Dr Esther Musani, who was the West Pokot TSC Director. She was promoted and deployed to Nyanza to take over from Kariuki. Catherine Mwenda, who was the Nyeri TSC Director, was also promoted to the RD level and deployed to the TSC headquarters to serve as the Senior Deputy Director at the Staffing Directorate.
All these transferred senior officers have since reported in their respective stations.
Insiders at the TSC headquarters told Education News that Mwenda was the replacement for Lilian Wachira, who was deployed as Coast RD earlier this year.
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The nine commissioners are responsible for providing overall policy direction, while staff responsibilities, including deployment, transfers, and promotions, are reserved for the technical wing headed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
However, in violation of existing rules, the commissioners have arrogated to themselves the roles of these staff starting this year, a development that had never occurred before.
By Our Reporter
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