The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has failed to appear before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Education led by Tinderet MP Julius Melly to respond to some of the issues raised by interdicted teachers from North Eastern region.
Education News has learnt that the Commission requested for more time.
Last week on Thursday the Committee summoned TSC Commissioners and the CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia to appear before it today to respond to some of the issues raised and to present its defence in the petition filed by the embattled North Eastern non-local teachers.
The teachers had requested the MPs to intervene and ask the Commission to revoke their interdiction letters, restate them and transfer them out of the volatile North Eastern region.
Speaking to Education News in an interview today, Kenya Teachers in Hardship and Arid Areas Welfare Association (KETHAWA) National Secretary Wangonya Wangenye noted that since TSC has failed to make an appearance, the committee should write a report and grant prayers made by the interdicted teachers.
“On Thursday October 19, 2023, over 200 interdicted teachers from North Eastern region appeared before the parliamentary committee and made their case. They then asked MPs to compel TSC to revoke their interdiction, to reinstate them in the payroll and to be accorded transfers to safer areas of teaching as per their requests,” Wangenye said.
He added: “TSC had an opportunity to appear before the committee today and table their defence. However, that has not been the case hence the North Eastern teachers have no case to answer, and all their prayers should be granted.
Wangenye noted that the interdiction of almost 200 teachers at a go is a serious administrative action and that TSC should have shelved all its business to address such an issue with the speed and seriousness it deserves.
He also noted that TSC should be reprimanded for how it’s treating teachers in a casual and unpretentious way.
The secretary lamented that teachers in hardship areas continue to face a myriad of challenges while executing their duties, yet TSC seems less concerned about their predicaments.
He further stated that if the recent treatment of North Eastern teachers is anything to go by and if this is treated as a benchmark for other teachers in hardship areas, then teachers have every reason to worry about their welfare.
By Roy Hezron
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