TSC to suspend teacher transfers and leaves for following reasons.
The TSC has decided to halt teacher transfers and leave because of the following reasons. The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will halt teacher departures and transfers in order to organize and administer the national exams in 2023.
The invigilation and supervision processes for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) are currently being planned.
The KCPE exam will be taken by 1,415,315 students, and the KCSE exam will be taken by another 903,260 applicants. In addition, 1,282,574 Grade Six pupils will take the KPSEA.
TSC will, however, commence mass transfers of professors for whom suitable replacements are available in December of this year.
Education Cabinet Ezekiel Machogu revealed last month that 26,871 teachers had yet to be moved back to their home counties due to a lack of suitable postings.
As of June 30, only 20,055 of the 46,926 primary and secondary school teachers who had requested to be relocated back to their home counties have received that request.
According to Mr. Machogu, who testified before the Senate, the TSC would ensure that the station the teacher is leaving has a suitable replacement and that the station to which the instructor has applied for transfer has a vacancy.
“This will allow the commission to ensure the equitable distribution and best use of teachers across the country for the benefit of all students.” The transfer policy has already been altered. In response to Nandi Senator Samson Cherargey’s question about the delocalization strategy, he stated that it was no longer in effect.
Mr. Machogu stated that the TSC must “ensure equitable distribution and optimal utilization of teachers in all public basic education institutions to ensure that learners throughout the country have access to quality education, as required by Article 43 of the Constitution” in order to carry out its mandate to transfer and post teachers.
According to the CS, TSC adopted delocalization to build national togetherness and cohesiveness, minimize managerial conflicts of interest, and ease teacher shortages in specific regions of the country.
“If teachers want their transfer to another institution to be considered, they must submit a request.” The CS said that the need for equal distribution and optimum use of instructors will serve as a guide for teacher transfers between institutions.
Other requirements include the presence of available positions at the proposed station, the need for replacement, current staffing standards, medical considerations, and any other issues that the TSC may consider.
The CS indicated that once a teacher asks a transfer to the county of their choice, it is the responsibility of TSC to ensure that there are enough openings, replacements, and a personnel balance across the country before the transfer is granted.
“This is to discourage mass evacuations of teachers from one station to another, which can have the effect of disrupting learning in an institution, to the detriment of learners,” he explained.
Mr. Machogu stated that the commission was thoroughly and methodically considering transfer requests. He went on to remark that finding suitable replacements is a challenging task, especially for principals.
TSC received 35,959 applications from teachers seeking primary level transfers, however only 17,942 were transferred, leaving 18,017 on the waiting list due to a lack of competent replacements. Only 2,113 of the 10, 967 post-primary teachers who requested transfer were accepted.
Despite their protests, the Commission decided not to transfer foreign instructors working in North Eastern.
In letters to teachers, the TSC expressed regret, stating that it is impossible to transfer them due to a lack of competent substitutes.
Teachers who received the TSC letter of apology stated that their employers instructed them to report to their workstations by September 9 or face discipline.
Teachers from Wajir, Garissa, and Mandera counties have been camped out outside the TSC offices in Upper Hill for the past two weeks, hoping to be transferred.
“TSC has acknowledged your request to be relocated outside of the North Eastern region.” In a letter to one of the professors, the TSC stated, “Your request is consequently refused due to the unavailability of a suitable replacement.”
To avoid disciplinary action, you are therefore advised to report to your workstation by September 7, 2023.
One of the impacted teachers believed that TSC had already sent apologetic letters to 100 teachers.
