KUPPET tells TSC to be independent, not political party rewarding loyalists

The recently released list of 36,505 promoted teachers by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has caused uproar among teachers and their unions with Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) demanding the employer to pull down the list and publish a fresh list which is inclusive.

KUPPET Migori Executive Secretary Samuel Orwa Jasolo—who recently declared interest of vying for top seat in the union’s 2026 elections — told Education News that they are worried that the TSC is losing its independency as a Commission adding that in the spirit of inclusivity as captured in the country’s constitution, TSC should publish a fresh list indicating the number of teachers who are promoted per County.

“In line with the constitution of Kenya article 27 (4) and in the spirit of inclusivity we demand that the TSC publish the names of the successful candidates per county so that we can see the figures and their distribution across the republic.

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“We are worried that TSC that is supposed to be an independent commission is beginning to behave like a political party known to reward party loyalist, we have seen in the recent past, a few MPs from other regions dishing out employment letters in funerals and political gatherings without putting into consideration deserving Kenyans whose parents may not be politically known. And must wait for years to attend competitive interviews,” said Jasolo.

According to Jasolo, as much as they applaud the commission for doing what they ought to have done over the past 10 years, the recently released list posted on the Commission’s website left out deserving teachers in Grades D1, D2, D3, C3, and C4. He added that the Commission acted contrary to its earlier assurance that the promotions would consider those who had stagnated for long in same job group, people living with disabilities, those who have been acting in administrative position and those advanced in age.

Jasolo stated that they are surprised that teachers with TSC Number starting with digit 7 and 8 who were employed as recent as 2018/20 can be on the list when a large number of teachers whose their TSC Number starts with digits 4 and 5 are not, leaving one to wonder whether the criteria laid bare before the interview was changed during the interview exercise.

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“For this reasons, we demand that TSC publish a comprehensive list indicating names of successful candidates, school where they teach and their sub counties to allow for scrutiny of the process. You can’t leave someone that has taught for 9 to 15 years and promote one that has taught for 3 years. It is unfair. How will a teacher left out on the promotions of TSC number starting with 4 employed in 2006 congratulate his or her student who is now a teacher promoted by TSC number starting with 7 employed in 2018?  The position of the union is to demand to know what criteria were used to arrive at the list posted,” said Jasolo.

“What logics would one use to explain how someone who has been in C3 for over 10 years is left out yet one who has served for 2 years in the same job group get promoted? Even during recruitment exercise, one who graduated a year ago and one who graduated 10 years ago are both legible to appear for an interview and have equal chance of getting employed, however the latter has an advantage because of length of stay after graduation. It is now immerging that even those with disabilities weren’t considered especially in secondary schools,” he added.

The KUPPET Migori boss decried that the county is one of the most understaffed in the entire Western and Nyanza regions with the largest number of teachers who have stagnated in one job group for long.

He further observed that for a long time, teachers from other regions have been promoted to take administrative responsibilities in the county, and that this time they were hopeful that TSC would find teachers of Migori fit for promotions as deputies and principals.

He added that they were shocked that their most deserving senior colleagues, including those living with disabilities who had added advantage in the interviews marks were left out, reiterating that Migori is slowly becoming a marginalised county where getting promotions is as difficult as forcing a camel through a needles eye.

“We demand that teachers of Migori too be promoted to administrative positions, as they equally deserve to be treated fairly by the employer. We, however, still congratulate those who were successful even as we demand fairness to deserving ones who have been left out,” added Jasolo.

By Hezron Roy