MPs Schedule to Meet TSC to Discuss the Fate of Interdicted Teachers
MPs Schedule to Meet TSC to Discuss the Fate of Interdicted Teachers. Members of Parliament are due to meet the Teachers Services Commission (TSC) next week to discuss the plight of 129 teachers who have been banned after refusing to return to their teaching duties in the North East over safety concerns. The meeting was announced by Tinderet MP Julius Melly, who chairs the National Assembly Committee on Education, during the hearing of the petition by the affected teachers on Thursday, October 19 at the County Hall in Nairobi. He stressed that the aim of the meeting was to find a solution to the impasse as the teachers had requested transfers and pledged not to return to the area prone to terrorist attacks.
Mr Melly emphasized that when individuals feel insecure, they should not be banned, but instead listened to. He also mentioned cooperation with leaders from the affected region, who expressed support for the teachers. While a mass transfer of around 3,200 non-local teachers has been ruled out, Mr Melly has suggested that those most at risk should be relocated.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu said the security situation in Garissa, Wajir and Mandera counties had improved and urged teachers to return to their workplaces.
During a meeting with MPs, the teachers expressed that they are being targeted because they are not from the region and face discrimination based on their ethnic and religious background. They expressed their willingness to work in any region of the country. They appealed to the committee for help in canceling their ban letters, restoring their incomes and facilitating their transfers.
The terrorist organization Al-Shabaab, which remains active along the border with Somalia and in the mentioned counties, is responsible for the attacks. It has been reported that teachers in some areas have contributed funds to compensate members of the National Police for protection. The teachers also submitted medical documentation that some of them had developed mental health problems.
The government said it had taken the necessary measures to increase security in the region, and the education cabinet secretary urged teachers to return to their duties. However, teachers stressed that the most affected are non-local teachers in remote rural areas and that building owners are reluctant to rent premises to them for fear of militant attacks.
An attached intelligence report suggested that the militants were targeting non-local instructors. The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has rejected some transfer requests, citing a lack of suitable replacements, and has set deadlines for teachers to return to their posts.
The teachers asked parliament to be transferred out of the region, saying their lives were in danger, and some received ban letters. Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has announced plans to hire more instructors in the North East region to provide quality education to students, with the aim of making the region self-sufficient in terms of teachers through the expansion of local training institutions.