Knut and Kuppet cry foul over recruitment of teachers

By ALLY JAMAH

KENYA: A countrywide exercise to recruit at least 10,000 primary and secondary school teachers got underway yesterday as teachers’ unions cried foul and threatened to challenge the process in court.

As some schools began interviews, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the two giant unions had not resolved the differences between them on the matter, in what may set a stage for a clash.

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) said it would move to court if TSC insists on locking it out of the on-going recruitment of teachers.

Kuppet secretary-general Akelo Misori said he was surprised when he called TSC boss Gabriel Lengoiboni to enquire about the exercise only to find out the union had been excluded.

Move unfair

“I was taken aback when he said that TSC does not want to include everybody in the recruitment panels. How can he call teachers’ unions everybody when we are major stakeholders in the exercise? It is most unfair,” Misori said.

He called on TSC to immediately amend the guidelines on recruitment to include teachers’ unions or face legal action. On its part, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) fired a protest letter to TSC seeking to resolve the matter urgently.

Knut chairman Wilson Sossion said he expects TSC to include the union by today, failure to which the whole process would be declared illegal.

“Our role has always been to check vested interests from interfering in the recruitment to enable schools get the most qualified teachers. It appears that TSC is no longer interested in minimising corruption and favouritism from the exercise,” he said.

Misori also explained that TSC’s decision to include head teachers and their deputies in the recruitment panels as well as relevant subject teachers overlooks the fact that some schools, especially those set up recently, do not necessarily have subject teachers in all areas.

“Where such technical expertise lacks, the unions would have filled the gap since we have professionals who can take care of such matters. TSC is not being fair to teachers and students as well as the need to maintain quality education in the country,” he said.

TSC recently stated that it will recruit 5,122 primary school teachers and another 4,878 for secondary schools. Another 1,139 teachers will be recruited to replace those who have left service through natural attrition, with 470 posts in primary school teachers and 669 posts for post-primary schools.