By CHARLES NGENO
BOMET, KENYA: The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) is opposed to the move by the county governments to hire Early Childhood and Development Education (ECDE) teachers.
In a letter addressed to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Secretary Gabriel Lengoiboni, Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion said the county governments are breaching the law; usurping a mandate they do not have.
Mr Sossion said TSC, in accordance with the TSC Act, is the only institution responsible for registration of trained teachers.
“It is our contention that such abuse of the law will serve to open up the teaching profession to adulteration and ultimately establishment of a precedence of fragrant disregard of the teaching sector laws,” said Sossion.
Knut said the delay by the teachers’ employer to formulate schemes of service for nursery school teachers has seen governors recruit the teachers to fill the void.
“What county governments are doing is a ‘first aid’ measure because TSC has not made adequate plans to start recruitment of these teachers. We want the employer to play its constitutional role as enshrined in the Constitution,” said Sossion.
He said governors cannot develop parallel systems of management of teachers because the mandate is exclusively for the TSC.
Mr Lengoiboni is on record saying Article 237 of the Constitution mandates the commission to recruit, deploy, remunerate, promote and discipline all registered teachers in public schools.
In a document dubbed “Teacher Recruitment in the Devolved Government”, he argues that county governments should only be in control of the ECDE ‘facilities’ and ‘support’ staff. TSC requires Sh4.8 billion to recruit 24,000 nursery teachers that will see each public school get at least one trained teacher.
However, Council of Governors Chairman Isaac Ruto has previously faulted TSC’s argument and noted that the Constitution, under the Fourth Schedule part 2(9), cites pre-primary education and childcare facilities as some of the devolved services.
Sossion however, says the Constitution declares that apart from registering teachers, it is the duty of the commission to recruit and assign teachers for service in any public school or institution.
“Given this legal position, we fail to understand why the commission is abetting the blatant breach of the Constitution. The commission should stand up and stamp its authority before the teaching sector degenerates into anarchy,” said Sossion.
Speaking in Bomet County yesterday and accompanied by branch Executive Secretary Malel Langat, Sossion said the union demands that the commission proceeds to register the ECDE teachers within the next 60 days as required by the Constitution and the TSC Act.
