The decision by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to transfer teachers from North Eastern continues to generate angry reactions with local leaders who accused the head of state and his deputy for neglecting the people of the three counties.
Fafi MP Barre Shill said President Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto have done little to address the biting problem of the shortage of teachers which has crippled the education sector in the three counties.
“If this problem was facing Central and Rift Valley they would be running around to ensure that it is addressed but they have chosen to neglect our areas,” he said during a press briefing in Nairobi last week. “We feel betrayed by the president and his deputy,” he said.
The legislator also faulted the president for not visiting Garissa University College which was the scene of a horrendous massacre of students by Al Shabaab gunmen in April last year. “He was able to visit Westgate but up to now the President has not seen the need of visiting the Garissa University College,” he added.
The spate of attacks witnessed in the region has seen many teachers emboldened by the backing from the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) refusing to go back to their work stations on alleged security fears.
Their employer, the Teachers Service Commission recently agreed to transfer more than 800 teachers to other areas of the country without putting in place any stop gap measures to address the shortage of teachers in the region which has left many schools devoid of teachers.
Local leaders who included the Mandera Senator Billow Kerrow criticized the commission for the action saying that there was no reason for the transfer as teachers from upcountry areas continue to serve in private schools.
In Wajir, the area Governor Ahmed Abdullahi urged local youth to join the teachers’ profession as a means of addressing the biting teacher’s shortage. “We must find solutions for our local problems as teachers fled the region. My administration will pay the school fees of these students and all interested in joining the Education fraternity,” he said during a visit to the privately owned Wajir Teachers Training College.
