- Koech said following the recent interviews conducted by the TSC, 57 positions were granted to teachers who are not from Bomet county.
- The MP added that the teachers who were left out are experienced and have been managing learning institutions well.
Image: KIPLANGAT KIRUI
Chepalungu MP Victor Koech has called on the Education Ministry to explain what he alleges to be disparities in teacher promotions in Bomet county.
Koech said following the recent interviews conducted by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for head teachers and principals, only four teachers from the county were promoted while 57 positions were granted to teachers who are not from Bomet county.
“This move is suspicious because we have numerous qualified teachers in Chepalungu and the whole county but to our surprise they were not promoted despite attending the interviews,” Koech said.
He was speaking in Parliament after seeking a statement from the chairperson of the Education Committee.
The MP added that the teachers who were left out are experienced and have been managing learning institutions well.
He regretted that they were overlooked during the promotions.
“It is noted that the teachers have been involved in the running of these schools and contributing substantially in the growth of the education development in the county,” he said.
Koech said the National Assembly passed a motion for the TSC to reverse the delocalisation policy and devolve the deployment of the teachers to zonal level in line with International Labour laws and UNESCO guidelines on teacher management and deployment.
“However, this seems not to have been implemented by the government, it is against the law and that is why I'm seeking a statement from the Education Committee,” the lawmaker said.
The MP petitioned the Education Departmental Committee to provide reasons for what he termed as "significant disparities in teachers’ promotion" and to explain the ratio in the said promotions.
“We want to know what measures are being undertaken by the government to postpone the deployment of these teachers until adherence is observed,” Koech said.
The MP’s sentiments came a the same day teacher unions in Bomet county protested the move by TSC to post 61 new school principals and head teachers to the region.
The Kenya Union Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) and Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) also want the TSC to halt with immediate effect their intended handing over ceremony.
They said it was wrong for TSC to promote the new heads while the school administrators who have been running the institutions in acting capacities for long had not been confirmed.
Led by executive secretaries Paul Kimeto (Kuppet) and Desmond Langat (Knut), the unions told the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to investigate the issue.
"We are wondering why the TSC is still delocalising the teachers yet the policy was removed when the Kenya Kwanza government came in,” Kimeto said.
The unionists also said that if TSC does not address their concerns, they would go to the streets to demonstrate against the posting of new school heads.
“We want the TSC to produce the list of teachers being promoted in Bomet and posted in other areas so that we can see fairness and transparency,” Kimeto said.
On his part, Langat said it is sad that teachers from outside the county were posted saying that the move will demoralise the local teachers.
“Our teachers are competitive and up to the task, we should allow them to grow just like the rest of the teachers in the country. They have a wealth of experiences,” Langat said.
The Knut SG said there would be no ‘leadership vacuum’ in the schools since the current administrators have been running the institutions without any problem.