Schools on their knees as educators shun region

The county government has recruited 250 secondary school leavers as teachers following a boycott of the region by non-locals.

County Education Executive Johora Mohamed Abdi said the refusal by the teachers to return to work had caused a major crisis as some schools only had a headteacher.

“A school like Garbagole Primary does not have a single teacher as they have all refused to return to Mandera although security has greatly improved,” she said.

Mrs Mohamed said the county government was identifying local people to take up teaching courses.

FULL SPONSORSHIP

“We will provide full sponsorship so that we have our own people willing to work under any circumstances in future,” she said.

Governor Ali Roba said the decision to hire school leavers had been taken to ensure education was not paralysed.

Speaking on Monday during the Kenya Health and Leadership congress in Nairobi, Mr Roba said education in the county was in a crisis and such urgent measures had to be taken.

“We had to look for local solutions. We are training form four graduates to help us even as we wait for the Teachers Service Commission to break the impasse,” he said.

The county boss said learners were attending classes at weekends to make up for lost time.

He appealed to teachers to return to work, saying security had been improved. “We have police patrols and the number of security officers have been increased,” he said.

Mandera Secondary is a national school with 900 students, the principal, Mr Ibrahim Maalim Hassan, said but 15 teachers had not turned up, disregarding a February 17 Teachers Service Commission deadline to return to work.

“We have brought in Form Four leavers to help,” he said.

“The county government has agreed to pay the volunteer teachers,” Mr Hassan said.

He denied media reports that Members of County Assemblies were teaching at the school.

“They were at Moi Girls and I am not sure if they were teaching because they are busy people,” he said. Moi Girls Deputy Principal Mohamed Ibrahim Hillow, however, accused ward representatives of making political capital from the crisis.

“The assembly members came here with a journalist to make it look like they are teaching. Have you seen any in the classrooms?” asked Mr Hillow.

SECURITY BEEFED UP

He said the school board had agreed to hire Form Four leavers and merge classes.

“We have decided to merge classes to make good use of the few teachers around and several Form Four leavers are helping out,” said Mr Hillow.
“We are 15 teachers short, including all heads of department, the boarding mistress and director of studies,” said Mr Hillow.

“The students are asking for the teachers they are used to and I appeal to my colleagues to return since security has been beefed up,” he said.

According to the Teachers Service Commission Mandera offices, out of 916 non-local teachers for primary and secondary schools, only 264 have returned.
“The most affected are secondary schools and the vacancies have been advertised,” said acting County Director Hussein Hassan Mohamed.

The commission advertised 416 vacancies for P1 teachers in Mandera but its difficult to fill them as people view teaching and nursing as professions for the poor.

More than 1,000 non-local teachers working in Mandera, Garissa and Wajir counties have refused to go back citing insecurity.

The primary and secondary school teachers have been camping outside the commission’s headquarters in Nairobi demanding to be transferred. The commission has refused.

The standoff follows the execution of 28 of their colleagues in cold blood by Al-Shabaab militants in Mandera in December last year.
Two weeks later, over 30 quarry workers were killed in a similar style in the region.

Members of the County Assembly with a teaching background as well as retired teachers have been recalled until the standoff was resolved.