TSC recruits 1,197 teachers as Knut prepares for strike
Teachers Service Commission CEO Nancy Macharia during the Secondary School Head Teachers Conference at Wild Waters in Mombasa on June 22, 2017. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The TSC said it was recruiting 1,197 teachers to replace those who have exited the service through natural attrition in the last three months.
- Some 893 vacancies are in primary schools and 304 in secondary schools. Interested candidates were asked to send their applications no later than January 4.
- Meanwhile, the Kenya National Union of Teachers is preparing for industrial action from January 2.
As the January 2, 2019 teachers’ strike looms large, their employer says it is hiring.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) on Thursday said it was recruiting 1,197 teachers to replace those who have exited the service through natural attrition in the last three months.
REQUIREMENTS
Some 893 vacancies are in primary schools and 304 in secondary schools, said the commission's Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia.
Mrs Macharia said eligible candidates should be Kenya citizens aged 45 and below.
They must have original professional and academic certificates and be registered as teachers as per Section 23 of the Teachers Service Commission Act of 2012.
“Applicants for vacancies in primary schools must be holders of the P1 certificate. They will be selected from the county merit lists compiled during the May 2018 recruitment of additional teachers,” she said.
“Applicants for vacancies in post primary institutions must be holders of a minimum of a diploma in education."
The teachers in the merit list are those who underwent interviews and have been awaiting posting.
Interested candidates were asked to send their applications, no later than January 4, to the secretaries of the boards of institutions with vacancies and submit copies of their documents to the TSC county directors.
Successful candidates will be deployed to any part of the country, the CEO noted.
STRIKENOTICE
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) announced the industrial action on Wednesday.
“Merry Christmas... but we can’t promise you that the new year will start well… parents should adjust their budgets very well because Christmas will be extended into the new year,” Knut Secretary-General Wilson Sossion said in Nairobi.
In a televised press conference, Mr Sossion accused the TSC of “de-professionalising the teaching profession” and failing to promote teachers based on merit, qualifications, long service and exceptional performance.
The Knut boss further said they were angered by Ms Macharia’s decision to transfer more than 3,000 head-teachers “irregularly”.
"The transfers, Knut can authoritatively reveal, were effected without the approval of the TSC appointment board," he claimed.
He addressed the strike notice to Labour Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani.
