The Garissa County government has threatened to sue the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) over its decision to transfer more than 1000 teachers out of the county.
Garissa Governorr Ali Korane termed TSC’s move unprocedural, negligent and an infringement of the constitutional rights of thousands of pupils and students in Garissa, Wajir and Mandera counties.
”The TSC leadership has an ill-motive to put us into a crisis when we all know that hundreds of non-locals were still teaching in the private schools in Garissa and there are a sizeable number of non-locals in other government departments peacefully serving contrary to the impression portrayed by TSC,” Korane said.
Korane other governors in the affected counties will also lodge a complaint and request the Intergovernmental Relations Committee to curtail TSC powers. The governors want TSC’s powers to transfer and appoint teachers in Garisa, Wajir and Mandera counties clipped.
To fill the gap left by fleeing teachers, the governor said the county will recruit untrained teachers on a contract basis.
Korane urged locals to volunteer as teachers and enroll in teacher training colleges assuring them that the county will offer bursaries.
Garissa deputy governor Abdi Dagane and Education CEC Habiba Nasib said they will lead campaigns to get locals to volunteer as tutors.
“I am a teacher by profession and am reporting to Garissa High School come this Monday, ” Dagane said.
Dagane said TSC moved to court to contest the admission of trainee P1 teachers with D+ and C- on grounds that such low grades will compromise the standards of education “yet it’s massively moving out teachers without regards to the impact on standards of education in this region”
He termed the mass transfers “as double standards and hypocrisy.”
Garissa County Commissioner Mwangi Meru said TSC was either blind or indifferent to the consequences of their move to transfer teachers serving in safer regions of Garissa town, Balambala, Madogashe, Bura, Dadaab and Masalani towns.
“We have non-locals serving in other government departments and non-state actors; as the chairman of the security committee in this county and education board member am shocked by TSC’s move to declare this region as no-go-zone,” said Mr. Meru.
