Immediately after their status was changed from internship to permanent, many Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers across the country rushed to banks, loan sharks, and any nearby financial institution to acquire loans.
It has been established that the teachers, without seeking further information, went ahead and committed their salaries to match those of the rest of the moguls-turned-maestros.
Education News has established that many of these teachers purchased luxurious items, including second-hand cars, furniture, TVs, and music accessories, which are now beginning to present untold headaches after borrowing money has been exhausted.
It is reported that many JSS teachers have already returned to the banks for top-ups.
“Before they were made permanent, we had no peace, but immediately they received their payslips, they questioned why some of us had no cars despite working for long,” said Indakwa, a deputy headteacher in one of the Junior schools in Migori County.
Indakwa further noted that financial impropriety is now ravaging the lives of most of their junior school teachers.
He said a number of people are already selling what they acquired with the first loan after their pockets ran dry.
In the North Rift, our survey revealed that some teachers have already clashed with their guarantors after defaulting on loans from banks, SACCOs, Shylocks, and hire-purchase firms.
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“Our young brothers and sisters in the profession are engaging in a cat-and-mouse chase with their guarantors after efforts to locate them through their phones have failed. It is not good for young professionals to start this way,” alluded Kotut, a teacher in a school that is domiciled.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has recently introduced Teacher Induction, Mentorship, and Coaching (TIMEC) as a means of mitigating the persistent professional gaps that teachers face in the course of performing their duties.
Rampant cases of mental health arising from stress and depression were on the rise amongst the commission’s employees.
Last year and early this year, cases of teachers taking their lives due to mental health issues drew attention and put the commission in the spotlight.
By Mark Jonyo Otieno
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