By: Ahmed Moow Ahmed
GARISSA—Following the mass transfer of 800 non-local teachers from the region, the residents of Northern Kenya are taking the matter into their own hands, literally. After the widely criticised transfer, students from the region are overwhelmingly enrolling for teaching courses in their own home counties as the government’s promise to create 500 slots for applicants from the regions seeking to pursue teaching courses still remain in place.
Wajir Times has leant that at least 120 students have volunteered to train as teachers in Wajir County alone and are fully sponsored by the county government, and have already reported to their respective work station. Mr Salah , the manager of the privately-owned Wajir Teachers Training College, said that over 12 students have last week alone sought enrolment in the institution after the governor of Wajir, Ahmed Abdullahi rolled out the sponsorship program.
“The students have volunteered to train as teachers after they realised the growing shortage of teachers in the county and are highly motivated by the prospect of getting a job after the county chairman of Teachers Service Commission and the head of the County Public Service Commission attended the closing ceremony towards the end of last month,” he said.
But according to the student leader of the college, Mohamud Noor, most of the students are willing to teach regardless of whether they are employed or not. The college has enrolled over 71 P1 teachers and 57 others training as ECD teachers, among them 13 female trainees. The students train as teachers over the holidays and teach when schools re-open.
“Although they (non-local) teachers left and threw the education sector into crisis, they have awoken us and our jobless youths will not get jobs after training as teachers,” Mohamed Noor said.
The same is happening in Garissa where 530 non-local teachers have reportedly left since December last year. Aden Sheikh Abdullahi, the County Director of Education , said over 218 untrained teachers have been employed on Wednesday this week after they received a go-ahead notice from the Teachers Service Commission.
“We are planning to employ 105 more teachers,” he added. The untrained teachers will go for in-service training over the holidays.
“The challenge earlier was that the Form Four leavers were not willing to go for pre-service training and wait for two years to be hired by the TSC. They want employment as soon as possible and we are offering them just that,” he continued.
The same method has been adopted in Mandera County where the education department has prepared a bill that is awaiting approval from the local county assembly members. According to the county minister for Education and Sports, Mohamud Omar Absiye, the county is preparing to roll out a wider scheme to plug the gap left by the non-local teachers.
Speaking to Wajir Times on phone, Mr. Absiye said the county has recruited 460 ECD teachers, who teach both upper and lower primary classes, and 840 others teaching upper and secondary classes. He added that the lowest entry point for those willing to train and teach primary schools is D+ while those of secondary is C+.
“Mandera was not in education crisis even before the mass transfer of the non-local teachers. Wenow only have a shortage of less than 60 teachers,” he said. He added that the teachers who are on the county payroll are attending to students as their colleagues who are members of unions like KNUT continue to boycott classes over payment disagreement with the government.
“An international orgernisation has sponsored 87 more students to train as teachers at Garissa Training College,” Absiye added.
Civil society orgernisatiosn have welcomed the move by the three county governments , saying it was long overdue. Hashim Elmoge, the chairman of Wajir Good Governance Initiative (WAGGI) welcomed the idea of recruiting local teachers, saying it was a move that would arrest the year-long education crisis in the region. “We commend the three counter governors over the move and support its implementation, ” he said.
Following the Al Shabaab attack on a Nairobi bound bus from Mandera in November last year where 20 teachers were among those killed, a number of non-local teachers moved out of the region citing insecurity fears.
The teachers have since been boycotting work demanding to be transferred to other parts of the country; an action which has brought the education sector of the region on its knees.
(Contact Wajir Times on +254 720306318, wajirtimesonline@gmail.com)
