By AUGUSTINE ODUOR
Kenya: Pressure continues to pile on President Uhuru Kenyatta to hasten appointment of two Teachers Service Commission senior staff.
Kenya National Union of Teachers added its voice on the matter just a day after the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ) wrote to the President to act.
With less than one month to the expiry of five TSC commissioners’ term, the teacher employer is staring at major operations crisis that could cripple service delivery to the 280,000 teachers. The legitimacy of the commission also hangs in the balance, as by mid-next month only one commissioner will be in office — the former Nairobi School Principal Cleopas Tirop. This will be contrary to the constitutional requirement that all independent commissions must be comprised of not less than three commissioners and not exceeding nine.
Commissioners David Kuno, Rose Mogoi Sereti, Meshack Llanziva, Monica Kilonzo and Lucy Njeru will vacate their offices by June 14.
And now, the Ombudsman and Knut want the President to forward two fresh names to Parliament for approval and subsequent appointment to fill the vacuum.
They argued that this will be major step in taming the looming crisis even as the State plans to advertise the remaining slots. This means, in addition to Tirop, TSC shall have three commissioners, the minimum constitutional requirement.
“We want the two officers appointed immediately because we do not want to manage a crisis when we can avoid it,” said Knut chairman Wilson Sossion.
The names in question are the next best performers in the interview conducted by the educationist James Kamunge panel.
The initial list presented to Parliament was rejected. The next set of names were also rejected in addition to facing a court battle that challenged the selection process with only Tirop’s name spared as it was a fresh submission from President Kibaki last year.
