TSC offices are closed as teachers demand transfers during a protest.
More than 50 primary school teachers camped outside the Tharaka Nithi County Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC) office in Chuka town Friday night to protest their demand to be transferred to their home sub-counties, which they have been making since May 10.
Teachers from the Tharaka North, Tharaka South, and Chiakariga sub-counties work in Embu, Meru, and Kitui counties. Still, many have applied to return to their native sub counties since President William Ruto’s administration abolished the delocalization policy.
The only openings they were informed of after submitting their transfer letters to the Tharaka Nithi County TSC office are in the Igambang’ombe, Maara, and Chuka sub-counties.
The teachers threatened to stay at the county TSC office until their request was fulfilled in a media interview on Tuesday morning. The office was shut down as a result of their protests there.
There are several schools in Tharaka North, Tharaka South, and Chiakariga sub-counties with as few as four teachers, according to a teacher from Tharaka North sub-county who has been working in Kitui County, and their bosses are moving their buddies there because of hardship allowance.
He claimed they had solid evidence that teachers from other counties had cheated their way into being relocated to the impoverished districts, harming individuals native to such places.
For various reasons, we requested to be transferred to schools close to our homes, and he stated we would not consent to be stationed in other counties.
Most young teachers sought transfers to schools close to their homes to reunite with their wives and start families, according to Mrs. Jane Mwangi, a teacher from Tharaka South who has worked in Meru County.
According to her, most teacher marriages have failed because of the low wage, which prevents them from visiting their spouses frequently enough.
She also mentioned that some teachers were moving from locations with severe hardships and had significant loans they could not repay if the hardship stipend was lost.
Mrs. Mwangi remarked, “Someone like me, I’m married but I’ve never enjoyed married life because I’ve been working away from my spouse.”
They would remain camped out in front of the county TSC director’s office until she paid attention to their cries, according to Mr. Mutinda Muriungi, employed in Tigania East in Meru County.
Njeru Mutani, executive secretary of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Tharaka Nithi County chapter, and Ndia Gwatia, executive secretary of the Tharaka constituency, joined the teachers on Tuesday morning and reaffirmed their demands.
The instructors need to be brought close to home so they can take care of their families, according to Mr. Mutani, who is also Knut’s national trustee. The teachers have been working away from their homes for several years.
“Teachers are paid very little salary and they cannot survive away from their homes where they are compelled to rent houses,” stated Mr. Mutani.
Mr. Gwatia criticized the county TSC office for displacing residents of Tharaka South, Tharaka North, and Chiakariga sub-counties with teachers from other regions.
Teachers from neighboring Meru and Embu counties and other sub-counties have requested to be transferred to Tharaka South, Tharaka North, and Chiakariga sub-counties because of the hardship allowances. Still, Mr. Gwatia insisted that locals should be given priority.
The county TSC director Rosemary Sokotian, who is out of the office, was spoken to, according to Mr. Gwatia, and she promised to resolve the situation quickly.
The county deputy TSC director could not be reached for comment.