Learning in north hit as teachers stay away
What you need to know:
- Some schools in Wajir County have as many as 19 teachers missing, prompting headteachers to merge some classes.
- Subjects such as Kiswahili, the preserve of non-locals, are yet to be taught in many schools. Primary schools are hiring Form Four leavers to teach some subjects.
Learning in schools in north eastern Kenya has been paralysed as teachers who are not from the region continue to stay away.
This came as the Teachers Service Commission Tuesday yielded to pressure and agreed to reduce the duration of service for new teachers sent to hardship and conflict-prone areas.
It was mandatory that a teacher serves for five years before requesting a transfer.
“The TSC is working on a policy framework to reduce the duration of service in the North Eastern region and similar areas on first appointment. The policy decision and implementation programme will be communicated in due course,” Commission Secretary Gabriel Lengoiboni said in a press statement.
Some schools in Wajir County have as many as 19 teachers missing, prompting headteachers to merge some classes.
Subjects such as Kiswahili, the preserve of non-locals, are yet to be taught in many schools. Primary schools are hiring Form Four leavers to teach some subjects.
Parents and school boards of management are now worried about the fate of learning in the county.
In a press statement through their chairman, Mr Mohamed Noor, they said the absence of non-local teachers was unjustified.
MISSED LESSONS
They said learners had missed four weeks of lessons and would have to play catch-up with the rest.
Mr Mohamed said the teachers were not honest and were seeking transfers to other areas using insecurity as an excuse.
“Fifty private schools are open. Ninety-five per cent of teachers are non-locals and all of them are back. Other government workers are also back to work,” he added.
