BY REUBEN OLITA
The Teachers Service Commission will employ 18,000 more Junior Secondary teachers to bring to 48,000 the total number the commission has employed so far.
TSC Commissioner Timothy Oyucho said they will also employ 2,000 primary teachers, noting that owing to budget constraints, they will not employ senior secondary school teachers.
Speaking at Akapijan Village ‘ Eruja Garden’ in Kamolo Location during a precursor bonding
meeting with education stakeholders from Busia County ahead of the main meeting at St Monica Chakol Girls High School, the commissioner said they are aware of the accute shortage ofJSS teachers, thus the need to employ more,” he said.
He added: “The criteria used to arrive at the number of teachers in every sub county is based on the number of classes. For example, Bunyala will receive 10 teachers out of 261 slots allocated for Busia County, Teso North 54, and Teso South and Teso Central combined 63 teachers.
Oyucho, who was flanked by Commissiner Dr Nicodemus Anyang, said understaffing is very critical with a shortage of 116,000 across the country; noting that there are 30,500 JSS classes in the country.
He noted that three merits will be applied in the recruitment of JSS teachers.The first merit will be recruitment of locals based on their identity cards, and they meet certain conditionality.
In the event that there are a few applicants who are locals, they will use the second criteria where applicants from other sub counties will be considered. Where some positions are still there, applicants from outside the county will be considered.
Com Dr Anyang reiterated that the current Board of TSC has initiated various reforms that are meant to raise job satisfaction and motivation among the teachers. This includes
review of various policies, which proved too unpopular, such as democratisation.
TSC Quality Assurance Standards Officer Dr Nthamburi urged head teachers to do with available resources, warning them against illegal levies and to ensure Prudent financial management and ethical standards are put in place.
Kenya National Union of Teachers Busia Branch Executive Secretary Patrick Mulamba said,
although TSC acceded to teachers’ cries by doing
away with delocalisation, they are still faced with challenges when the same teachers want to trace their way back.
His Teso Branch counterpart Ekasiba Godfrey said in the event that a substantive head teacher is posted to a school to replace an acting one, then TSC should transfer him or her to avoid being ridiculed by pupils.
In his plea to the Commissioners, Ekasiba said shortage of deputy head teachers has hit Teso region with Angurai zone having a deficit of 14 deputies, Kolanya 10, and Teso Central similar number.
He said retired teachers suffer immensely owing to delays in getting their pensions; some of them are forced to part with bribes before payments are implemented. He also took issue with the commission for constant demands by teachers with Disabilities to renew their certificates.
Busia County Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers (KUPPET) Executive Secretary Moffats
Okisai said their bonding session with TSC Commissioners will help address social capitation network.
A Board of Management representative, Professor Olubayi Olubayi, said that he read over 600 books before sitting for his ‘O’ Levels. He regretted that most teachers have stopped reading, a feat that should warrant their exit from their profession.
“Teachers have entire libraries in their pockets in terms of android phones, and yet they fail to capitalise on that to advance their careers, telling them to change the trend and become technosavvy,” he said.
Busia County Executive Committee for Culture Sports and Social Services Olunga Ekwenye regretted that there is no substantive directory of education in Teso North and that the region is also most understaffed, thus making it difficult to get results.
CECM for Trade, Cooperatives, and Industrialization Olakachuna Omuse urged TSC to look into problems bedeviling primary and secondary schools in the county, noting that this will help in bettering results in national exams.
Angurai North MCA Hon Isaac Wamalwa said they have intense pressure from unemployed teachers, thus the need by the commission to find a lasting solution to this impasse.
Malaba North MCA Hon Patrick Omanyala said the new JSS teachers to be recruited must be locals, adding that in the event a man has married from outside the county, such women must possess an
Identify card bearing the name of her husband.
A teacher from the county who was delocalized to Siaya Maurice Opua said although the commission
changed the policy on delocalization, getting a letter to go back to your home county is like climbing Mt Everest.
County KEPSHA Chairman George Odhiambo said most primary schools in the county have no senior head teachers or senior teachers, adding that the ratio in JSS is 14 students per teacher, which is indeed a worrying trend.
His KESSHA counterpart Nickson Boyi urged Dr Oyucho, who was born and educated in Amukura to help St Paul’s Amukura High School back on its feet adding, that they cannot sit and watch a giant school like SPAHS go into oblivion.
The KESSHA boss also took issue with TSC over its failure to promote head teachers after three years as per the guidelines. He also wants the commission to replace teachers who are transferred and to have the Ministry of Education carry assessments and not KESSHA.
“We shall endeavour to fix SPAHS and visit the school today in preparation for the harambee scheduled for July 21st ,2023. Trying to kill a giant school like SPAHS is a direct attack on Iteso,” Oyucho said, adding that they posted Principal Titus Isogol to help it recover its lost glory.
