KUPPET and KNUT Cry Foul Over Nepotism in TSC Teacher Recruitment
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and two major trade unions have clashed over the recruitment of teachers in Bomet County.
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) have both claimed that there is deep-rooted nepotism that has affected the teacher hiring process with candidates from a neighbouring county being hired over teachers from the local area.
“It is unfortunate that some senior TSC officers in Sotik sub-county have changed the rules to favour their kinsmen in the recruitment process, locking out locals who deserve the opportunities. TSC needs to address this issue with urgency,” said Mr Mathias Langat, the Sotik KNUT branch secretary.
According to KUPPET Bomet branch Chairperson Paul Kimeto, some of the teachers who were locked out met the requirements to merit being shortlisted.
“We have cases where candidates who graduated several years back and are 44 years old were locked out when they should have been given preference as required by the rules and policy governing the recruitment exercise, while those who graduated recently were taken,” said Mr Kimeto.
According to Mr Kimeto and Mr Langat, they had raised the issue with the local TSC offices amid mounting pressure and protests from candidates who had been locked out.
It has been revealed that Adow Bardad, the TSC Rift Valley Regional Director wrote to Bomet County TSC Director Mary Kola Kalinga, asking for answers to the concerns of the union.
The letter is dated the 24th of July 2022 and confirmed that the trade unions had raised concerns over the recruitment process.
Following this, officers from the regional TSC offices were sent to the county to conduct an investigation of the incident.
Teacher.co.ke did not reach Ms Kola for any comments on the issue due to her being on sick leave.
“It is very clear that there was manipulation in the recruitment process and the officers involved are known.
“This is not the first time this has happened as a senior officer in the department was transferred last year following protests from teachers and stakeholders of education on similar circumstances,” added Langat.
According to the teachers’ unions, the issue was systemic and the TSC headquarters needed to address it once and for all because the officers on the ground were tarnishing the image of the organization.
There is a severe teacher shortage across the country with more than 300,000 qualified but unemployed teachers applying for the TSC jobs every year.
In recent times, TSC CEO Nancy Macharia acknowledged that there is a teacher shortage of more than 100,000 in public schools.
The TSC CEO added that the Commission was financially constrained and called on lawmakers to increase funding for the agency in order to hire new teachers.
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