Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Commissioners were treated to a rude shock following revelations made by field officers working for the organization.
The moving disclosures emanated from the ongoing countrywide regional meetings under the auspices of the commissioners where major education stakeholders, Board of Management (BOMs), teacher unions, and teacher associations such as Kenya Primary School Head Teachers Association (KEPSHA) and Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) were in attendance.
The field officers including Curriculum Support Officers (CSOs), Sub-County Directors, and Deputy Directors who spoke during the forum poured their hearts out.
They admitted that they were frustrated a lot and were many a time forced to dig deep into their pockets to perform Government duties.
The officers who cannot be quoted due to the sensitivity of the matters at hand lamented that while they were required to deliver on their assignments within specific deadlines, the commission did not facilitate them with resources to accomplish such duties.
They said that many times, they would be required to photocopy bundles of documents for use during teacher recruitment as well as write specific reports and submit them through email without being provided with stationery or facilitation for internet services.
One officer who spoke at a Kakamega meeting event told the TSC decision-makers that they were suffering in silence due to the high level of intimidation from their superiors at the headquarters.
“If we don’t deliver on the duties, we are sometimes served with show cause letters or even later interdicted over faults that are not ours.
The commission ceased from giving us airtime several years ago but expects us to call teachers and schools to obtain data and certain reports.
Is this fair?” posed the officer
These hard-hitting claims seem to have baffled the commissioners who stared at each other wondering whether this could be possible in a large organization that employs the biggest workforce in the country.
In the case of recruitment, the officers complained that they were required to travel to various County headquarters away from their workstations to carry out the exercise but were never provided with per diems in advance as is the case with the rest of public service.
They said the Commission asked them to use their resources and claim for reimbursement later but were quick to say that such monies are either not refunded or are paid months or years later thus seriously inconveniencing them.
“We have established most of our colleagues working at the headquarters are given their per diems before leaving Nairobi before visiting the field.
Why is it different when it comes to us? Is this not discrimination?” asked a Sub-County Director who spoke in Embu.
The question of promotion of field officers also dominated the discussions.
The staff also protested that they had stagnated in one job group for a long time yet other employees of the same commission had vertically progressed as they watched.
They said that the proposed Career Progression Guidelines for Secretariat Staff which would have boosted their morale through promotion had not been implemented.
They also questioned TSC’s attitude towards their staff especially when they ask them to conduct interviews for teachers in higher job groups without thinking about their plight.
A certain TSC Sub-County Director asked the Commissioners how one was expected to feel when interviewing a university classmate who is now a Principal at job group R when he or she is at job group N.
Another officer petitioned the Commissioners to look into the issue of transport for staff working in the field stating this would ease their mobility as they performed their duties.
They said that even the Curriculum Support Officers (CSOs) were much better because they were provided with motorbikes, but deputy directors and Sub-county directors were the most affected groups.
Speaking during the Nakuru forum TSC vice chairperson Laila Ali assured the employees that the matters raised would be looked into and that the commission was a professional body that was keen to better teaching service as well as the interests of those serving the teaching fraternity.
The TSC has several layers of field officers including 8 Regional directors, 47 county directors, over 300 Sub-County Directors, and over 1,000 Curriculum Support Officers plus a motley of officers such as Quality Assurance Officers (QUAS) officers, Human Resource officers, and support staff.
By Our reporter
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