TSC To Approve Pending Transfers Of The Following Delocalized Teachers

By Getrude Mathayo / Published March 30, 2023 | 12:11 pm

KEY POINTS

1,885 teachers applied to be transferred to the capital city while 76 requested to be transferred out of Nairobi. Some 41 requests out of 1,162 to primary schools and four to secondary schools out of 723 were approved by TSC by end of January.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

TSC says, of the teachers, 14,733 were matched and approved while 21,544 are pending. Nancy Macharia told the committee that the transfer of teachers from one institution to another is based on the need for equitable distribution and optimal utilization of teachers.

The Teachers Service Commission, TSC, to approve the transfer requests for 21,544 delocalized teachers.

TSC will approve the regional and inter-regional transfers request in April 2023 and release the letters in May 2023 to avoid learning disruptions.

According to a document submitted to the Senate Committee on Education by TSC, a total of 36,277 teachers applied for transfers between November 1 last year and January 31 this year

The transfers also depend on the availability of vacancies in the station, the need for replacement, existing staffing norms, and medical grounds certified by a registered medical practitioner.

The document signed on behalf of Macharia by the Director of Legal, Labour, and Industrial Relations Cavin Anyuor, explains that not all teachers applied to be transferred to their home counties.

“Some transfer requests are for transfers other than home counties. As an employer, the commission cannot dictate to a teacher to apply to be transferred to a particular county. Similarly, the commission cannot decline a transfer request simply because a teacher hasn’t applied to be taken to his home county,” the document reads in part.

The teachers’ employer also warned against what she termed as the misinterpretation of the reversal of the delocalization policy to mean that teachers must now not only teach in their home counties but also in their villages.

According to TSC, if the commission was to move every teacher to their home counties, regions that have not produced enough of their own as teachers will suffer from under-staffing

TSC also held that the commission must first ensure that the station a teacher is leaving has a suitable replacement and that there is a vacancy in the preferred station before effecting a transfer request.

TSC is implementing the delocalization policy following the government’s move to post teachers to their home counties. Data submitted to the Senate by the commission also revealed that most teachers prefer to work in Nairobi City County.

During the period, 1,885 teachers applied to be transferred to the capital city while 76 requested to be transferred out of Nairobi. Some 41 requests out of 1,162 to primary schools and four to secondary schools out of 723 were approved by TSC by end of January

The number of those who wanted to be transferred out of Bungoma County stood at 1,074 teachers. Mombasa County is also a favorite among secondary school teachers, with 340 applying to move to the Coastal City against 55 who asked to be moved out.

Kajiado County also emerged as one of the most preferred counties after receiving 237 transfer requests for teachers in secondary schools against 94 who requested to be transferred out of the county.