- Stakeholders in Kakamega want TSC to release logistical funds before recruitment, training and promotion exercises begin.
- Their concerns follow a fake message asking schools to contribute money towards recruitment and promotion interviews.
- TSC maintains the exercises are fully funded and County Directors have adequate resources to conduct them.
Stakeholders have urged the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to consistently meet its financial obligations for field activities, including teacher training, recruitment and promotion exercises.
The stakeholders said delays in releasing funds for such activities have often left field officers struggling to meet logistical costs as they undertake their assignments. In some instances, they said, officers have been forced to seek assistance from teachers’ organisations to facilitate activities that are supposed to be funded by the Commission.
The concern comes as TSC continues with the ongoing promotion interviews for teachers across the country.
On September 8, TSC flagged as fake an online request purportedly addressed to heads of institutions, asking them to assist in meeting logistical expenses related to recruitment and promotion interviews.
The fake message asked schools with Junior School sections to contribute Sh1,000 and those without Junior School sections Sh500, with the money purportedly meant to facilitate the exercises. TSC dismissed the message and said recruitment and promotion services are fully funded by the Commission.
However, stakeholders in Kakamega said the incident highlights the need for TSC to ensure that adequate funds are released to its field officers before activities commence.
The stakeholders challenged TSC to emulate the Ministry of Education (MoE) by remitting logistics funds in good time to enable field activities to run smoothly.
They said timely funding would not only ease the burden on field officers but also ensure that teachers and other stakeholders involved in the activities are not inconvenienced.
“If the funding is done after the activities are done, the officers will have had a rough time footing the costs incurred,” said One Mulusa.
The stakeholders noted that activities such as teacher recruitment, training and promotion interviews require proper logistical planning and financial facilitation.
They argued that officers should not be expected to personally finance official assignments while waiting for reimbursement.
TSC says exercises are fully funded
TSC, however, says recruitment and promotion are among its core functions and that the exercises are fully funded by the Commission.
In its September 8 clarification, the Commission also said County Directors had been provided with adequate resources to undertake the exercises and cautioned school heads against participating in unauthorised fundraising requests.
The stakeholders nevertheless called on TSC to establish a reliable mechanism for releasing funds for field activities, saying this would improve efficiency and accountability while allowing officers to concentrate on delivering their mandate.
According to the stakeholders, timely disbursement of funds would also strengthen confidence among field officers and other education stakeholders while reducing the need for officers to seek financial assistance from teachers’ organisations or other sources.
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They maintained that TSC has a responsibility to ensure that its field operations are adequately facilitated and that officers undertaking official assignments are not left to shoulder costs arising from Commission activities.
By Our Reporter
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