Seek facts, Mr Kilonzo

The exchange between Education minister Mutula Kilonzo and the Teachers Service Commission over teacher recruitment does not make much sense.

On Wednesday, Mr Kilonzo claimed the commission had short-changed the country by recruiting 10,000 new teachers, yet the Treasury had released money for double that number.

But it emerged on Thursday the commission had not been allocated money to recruit 20,000 teachers. In fact, it was only after the minister made the claim that the commission wrote to the Treasury seeking clarification on the matter.

This kind of confusion between two government bodies that should be working together must not go unchallenged. It is not clear why Mr Kilonzo rushed to the media to make such a claim when he could have easily established the facts by talking to his counterpart at the Treasury.

As matters stand now, the remarks served little purpose than to poison the atmosphere between the TSC and the public who may feel they have been robbed of 10,000 vacancies in a situation where too many teachers are still unemployed.

Mr Kilonzo must learn to consult rather than play to the gallery like too many political activists do.