- Wilson Sossion has told Parliament he will work to end tensions between the TSC and the Ministry of Education if confirmed as a commissioner.
- Sossion has pledged to push for the faster release of teachers’ pension benefits and to tackle bureaucracy and corruption within TSC.
- Sossion has assured MPs he will not pursue partisan politics or resign to contest the 2027 General Election.
Former Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Wilson Sossion has told Parliament he will work to end friction between the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the Ministry of Education (MoE) and press for the faster release of teachers’ pension benefits, should he be confirmed as a commissioner.
Appearing before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Education during his vetting, Sossion said his priority would be fostering cooperation between the commission, the ministry and other education stakeholders while ensuring government directives are respected and implemented.
“I will ensure that the government directives are respected. I will ensure there will never be war between TSC and the ministry. I will ensure both are working together. There has to be cooperation,” Sossion told the committee.
He described teachers’ pension benefits as one of the most pressing concerns in the profession and pledged to push for their release if he joins the commission. He also identified improving the quality of education in both public and private schools, strengthening service delivery at TSC and restructuring the commission’s operations as central to his agenda, alongside eliminating bureaucracy and corruption, including delays in processing teachers’ files and documents. He pointed to school audits and quality assurance as key tools for identifying and addressing abuses and other challenges in learning institutions.
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Sossion sought to reassure MPs that his background as a union official would not compromise his work as a commissioner, insisting that his advocacy for teachers during his time at KNUT had been intended to strengthen, not undermine, the TSC.
“I was not pulling down the commission; I was building the commission. From this side I was advocating. From the employer’s side, I will be implementing. I will not come in and be a disruptor,” he said.
He committed to operating within TSC’s existing strategic plan rather than introducing new priorities that could conflict with the commission’s mandate, noting that the plan had already been “well negotiated and well thought of.” He also pledged to defend the commission while maintaining working relationships with teachers and other stakeholders, arguing that decisions made by TSC should ultimately serve teachers’ interests.
“I’m not going to betray the commission, nor am I going to betray the teachers of Kenya,” he said, adding that dialogue would remain central to how he engages with social partners on matters affecting teachers. “I am very strong in decisions,” he said, pledging to run the commission in line with government policy.
“I do not belong to any political party, and I will not pursue partisan issues within the commission. I will serve full-time as a commissioner because my favourite job is teaching, service and promotion of education,” he said, adding that he wanted to see the teaching profession elevated. “We must make the teaching industry noble. We can have the top students’ teachers,” he said.
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Sossion led KNUT as Secretary General between 2013 and 2021, a period in which he was heavily involved in matters of teachers’ remuneration, promotions, working conditions and collective bargaining, including advocacy for the employment of teachers on permanent and pensionable terms.
By Masaki Enock
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