By Education News Team
Hundreds of teachers promoted to administrative positions a few weeks ago have rejected the offer by their employer, Teacher Service Commission (TSC).
The teachers drawn from various counties turned down the offer, dealing the commission a major blow in its attempt to enhance school management.
Those promoted were dissatisfied with the development and opted to proceed to court to have the matter heard and determined.
Majority of those earmarked for the promotions are classroom teachers and had been promoted to the position of Deputy Head teachers.
Subsequently, they were posted to new stations under the much maligned Teacher Delocalisation Programme launched early this year.
The affected teachers who were supposed to relocate to their new stations in new capacities on June 4th, 2018 sought court redress over the abrupt transfers.
They have since obtained court orders restraining TSC to deploy them as Deputy Head teachers under the controversial policy.
As a result, TSC has been ordered to stop the deployment of the teachers promoted to administrative positions until the matter is heard and determined.
In a court order seen by Education News, signed by the Deputy Registrar of Employment and Labour Relations Court, the Commission has been prohibited to deploy the affected teachers until the matter is settled amicably.
The court has further ordered TSC to hear and determine all appeals raised by the teachers.
“Within the period of hearing the appeals filed by the teachers, the applicants (teachers) will not be victimised for failure to report to their new working stations.
“Leave be granted to the applicants to apply for an Order of Prohibition prohibiting TSC from purporting to deploy and/or transfer the teachers listed below.
The grant of the leave herein do operate as a stay of the deployment as Deputy Head teachers of the fore-listed members, including the transfer, replacement and/or delocalization of any of the teachers listed before this court,” states the Court order.
The order further states that the matter has been brought up for hearing under certificate of urgency following the supporting affidavit of Danson Macharia Mugwe sworn on June 8th, 2018.
Macharia is Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Nairobi Branch Executive Secretary, and a National Executive Council (NEC) member of the giant trade movement.
States the Court Order: “The respondent (TSC) to hear and determine all the appeals by the applicants (teachers); pending the hearing of the appeals, the applicants will not be victimised for failure to report to their new working stations; the respondent (TSC) has been given time to file and serve her reply to the applicant (teachers) for stay; for avoidance of doubt, it is ordered that the consent order of no victimization will extend to the next hearing date which is June 21st, 2018.
Under the new deployment policy, head teachers and deputy head teachers to be promoted or transferred to new stations in the near future will not serve in their home counties.
The controversial policy has been condemned by teacher unions, notably the Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary General, Wilson Sossion.
Senior administrators include principals, deputy principals, head teachers, deputy head teachers, senior masters, senior mistresses, senior teachers, registrars and deans.
“Some male principals are depressed that they are starting to learn how to prepare meals, something they were not used to while close to their families,” Sossion noted in the past.
Some of the affected teachers consider turning down the promotion offer as a wise move as they will be close to their families.
