As Dr Nancy Macharia’s days at the helm of the Upper Hill office come to an end this month, field officers have spoken out and shared their expectations with the incoming Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
The officers—primarily drawn from Curriculum Support Officers, Sub-County Directors, Human Resource Officers, and clerks—have raised concerns that all is not well. They say morale is low, and their roles are no longer as competitive or attractive as those in the wider public service, despite serving under a constitutional commission.
“Who will be attracted to positions where assignments are too much with minimal facilitation and decades of stagnation?” asked one of the field officers, who added that her focus is on any vacancy in the Ministry of Education (MoE) or public universities.
Education News has revealed that job satisfaction among TSC field officers is very low, to the extent that some feel neglected, unlike when they were in mainstream teaching.
This media recently ran a story on the cries of CSOs after successfully overseeing the promotion of over 23,000 teachers.
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The Sub-County Directors, who spoke to Education News on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said they have been promised vehicles all along, just like their counterparts in MoE. They claimed that they should have been facilitated to move around subcounties if the sourcing of vehicles was unbecoming. Some have hinted that their offices have accumulated rent arrears and are sometimes compelled to dip into their own pockets to manage the commission’s affairs. This, they say, always gives them untold stress.
“I wonder how my CSOs manage their areas since facilitation is a mirage,” added a subcounty Director from Eastern Region. He further implored whoever succeeds Dr Macharia to take the time to visit field officers in their bases spread across the eight regions. “The officers putting on plastic smiles to cover what is totally unbearable are in the field,” added the officer.
All is not rosy for the Human Resource officers, clerks and subordinate staff, as many claim that they were last promoted in 2018. Their prayer is that a listening and caring CEO will be recruited so that their pleas will be met.
As Dr. Nancy Macharia proceeds on her much-anticipated terminal leave, Kenyans hope that the most suitable candidate will be selected and appointed as the next TSC CEO.
By Kaptich Tarus
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