The Teachers Service Commission has highlighted what it is doing to address the security concerns expressed by non-local teachers in North Eastern.
The security concerns are evidenced by rising incidences of attacks and hostilities exhibited against the said teachers in their current duty stations.
TSC CEO Nancy Macharia on Thursday said the Commission has explored several strategies to address the concerns raised by the teachers posted in the North.
Macharia said the strategies are not only meant to ensure the safety of teachers in the North Eastern region but to also ensure that schools in the region are adequately staffed for the benefit of learners.
The TSC boss said the Commission has had engagements with government agencies and stakeholders as it would take concerted efforts to address the matter.
"In 2015 the Commission petitioned the national government and a meeting chaired by the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service agreed to conduct a fact-finding mission in Mandera and Wajir in December 2014 and January 2015 respectively," Macharia said.
Following the meeting, it was resolved that the community leaders were to facilitate the resumption of duty by teachers and their integration with the host communities in the region.
Macharia said the Ministry of Education registered Garissa, Mandera and Eldas TTCs to target and train local teachers for the P1 Certificate.
Garissa University was earmarked to train secondary teachers drawn from the local communities.
To support this initiative, Macharia said TSC agreed to employ all local teachers from the institutions upon graduation.
Additionally, the Commission requested the Ministry of Interior and other state agencies concerned with national security to improve security in learning institutions in the North Eastern region.
"Every time sporadic incidents of insecurity occur, and teachers affected, the Commission has consistently sought the support of the Ministry of Interior and the respective county governments to beef up the security/safety of non-local teachers," she said.
She spoke when she appeared before the Senate Committee on Education.
Macharia said the Commission has also requested the Ministry of Education to regulate the registration of new learning institutions and where possible, merge the small existing schools to harness security and resources.
"In a concerted effort to stabilize staffing of schools in the region, the Commission adopted a continuous employment of teachers approach for the region," she said.
Another strategy undertaken by the Commission is the deployment of non-local teachers to safer areas.
Macharia said the Commission has endeavoured to deploy non-local teachers to the relatively 'safe' areas in the region.
"Upon consultation with its field officers, a policy directive was issued by the Commission to post non-local teachers to urban centres considered as relatively safe with proper infrastructural developments and amenities," the TSC boss said.
Reduction of the five-year retention policy in one teaching institution was also another strategy by the Commission to help teachers in the North East.
Ordinarily, the teacher transfer policy requires that a teacher may only request for transfer upon expiry of five years after the first appointment.
"However, because of the insecurity challenge in the NE region, the Commission made the decision to reduce the period to 3 years for the teachers posted to the region on 1st appointment," Macharia said.
Finally, Macharia said the Commission is engaging teachers on contract terms to ensure there are adequate teachers in the region.
"To address the general understaffing of schools in the region, the Commission commenced recruitment of teachers who though retired but below 65 years on contract terms. This is intended to sustain and stabilise teacher staffing levels for the region," she said.