The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has issued a clarification on the abolished delocalization policy. They said that it is will ensure equitable distribution of teachers all over the country.
The clarification was in response to a question from Senator Ali Abdulahi Mundigi in the Senate Committee on Education on the 22nd of March 2023. The Senator has asked why certain counties had not received enough teachers.
According to the TSC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Nancy Macharia, the commission has a policy of delocalizing teachers to ensure that they are not recruited in large numbers to only urban areas but are relatively spread out to urban areas.
This policy is with the intention of ensuring that all learners, regardless of their geographical location have access to quality education.
However, some counties classified as “hard-to-staff” areas have not been that successful in attracting teachers.
In Samburu County, it is only a few teachers requested deployment while a lot more teachers applied to be transferred out of the county. Turkana County experienced a similar situation.
The TSC CEO warned the Senate and members of the public that the delocalization policy does not mean that teachers have to work in their villages if they are to be transferred to their home counties.
She said that the Commission cannot dictate to teachers where they should work but that it has to ensure equitable distribution of teachers across the country.
The counties that have not attracted many applicants would end up being understaffed while those with excess teachers would be overstaffed, leading to a wastage of resources.
Arid and semi-arid areas and hard-to-staff areas would be the most affected.
TSC has given indications in the past that they are committed to executing the rerouting of delocalized teachers.
The delocalization policy wreaked havoc on the lives of many teachers who had to work in areas they are not comfortable in and far away from their spouses.
The policy was initially intended to ensure that teachers acquired diverse experiences and skills. However, it was not implemented in a way that aligned with the needs of teachers, resulting in their resistance to the policy.
Despite its abolition, it remains to be seen what the Commission will do next to improve the skills and experiences of teachers while also taking the needs of the individual teachers into account.
The Commission is mandated to employ and deploy teachers in public schools across the county. For decades the Commission has been working on ensuring that all learners have access to quality education regardless of their location.
TSC has also been working to improve the skills of teachers and improve the quality of education through training and supporting teachers, improving infrastructure and enhancing the curriculum.
Transfer of teachers from one school to another is based on many factors including priority to equitable distribution and optimal utilization of teachers, availability of vacancies in the school, need for a replacement(s), existing staffing norms and medical grounds. However, a teacher has to provide evidence are required such as a signed medical document detailing their health condition.