- The Elgeyo Marakwet County Assembly Education Committee has decried delays in recruiting 140 teachers and instructors and has demanded the CPSB explain the holdup by August 17.
- Committee chairperson Christopher Cheboiboch has confirmed that the Education Department submitted its recruitment indent and Finance confirmed funds, yet no hiring has taken place since the July 1 deadline.
- The committee has warned that continued staffing shortages, including three ECDE centres in Emsoo Ward without teachers, could disrupt learning when schools reopen on August 26.
Members of the Elgeyo-Marakwet County Assembly have decried delays by the County Public Service Board – CPSB in recruiting Early Childhood Development Education – ECDE teachers, a move they say is crippling learning in centres across the county.
The Education and Technical Training Committee Chairperson in the County Assembly, Christopher Cheboiboch, raised the concern during a County Assembly session dedicated to discussing the state of education implementation in the county.
Cheboiboch told the House that KSh 3.6 million had already been allocated for the recruitment exercise in the current financial year, but the process had not moved.
“This House approved KSh 3.6 million for ECDE teacher recruitment, but up to now the CPSB has not advertised or employed any teachers. Our children are suffering,”_Cheboiboch stated.
The MCA noted that the delay has affected service delivery in Early Childhood Development Centres across the county, with many ECDE centres operating with a shortage of teachers. This, he said, has overstretched the few available teachers and compromised the quality of learning for young learners.
He now wants the Board to expedite the process and ensure that teachers are employed before the start of next term to improve learning in ECDE centres.
He remarked, “The children in our ECDE centres deserve qualified teachers and a conducive learning environment. The Board must act with urgency.”
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Following the concerns raised, the County Assembly has vowed to summon the CPSB to appear before the Education Committee and explain the delay in the recruitment process.
The Assembly said it will also demand timelines on when the advertisement, shortlisting and employment of the ECDE teachers will be done.
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Recently, ECDE teachers staged a day-long demonstration demanding that educators who for long had been serving on a contract basis be moved to permanent and pensionable terms and their salaries increased.
The recruitment of ECDE teachers has been a recurring issue in the county, with parents and school management committees repeatedly calling for more tutors to be deployed to handle the growing number of learners.
By Philemon Kiprop
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