Teachers Service Commission has suspended the planned mass transfer of teachers due to surge in Covid 19 cases. In the last few day the commission has witnessed 19 teachers succumb to the virus. In a statement seen by Newspoa, the teacher’s employer says that the decision was taken to protect teachers from any risk of contracting the virus.
There have been drastic increase in the number of Corona virus cases in the recent days as per the ministry of health daily report. Some regions have experienced severe 4th wave of the virus. This has necessitated the move given that some of the affected teachers may have been redeployed to such places.
TSC had primed itself to carry out the exercise ahead the reopening of schools in the new academic year. The exercise could have seen over 10,000 teachers delocalized from there home counties. However the teachers will stay longer in their current centers.
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TSC will still conduct the transfers in future when it would be safe to do so. In the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, teacher service commission had stated that it will continue transferring of teachers to enhance national cohesion and coexistence among communities.
Knut had opposed delocalisation policy that aimed at evenly distributing teachers countrywide through transfers.
The policy, according to the teachers’ employer, has been part of the government’s move to enhance national cohesion and bolster professionalism and commitment in the teaching profession.
Secondary school heads were the most affected by the exercise that began on January 1, 2018.
Appearing before the National Assembly Education Committee then, TSC Chief Executive Nancy Macharia told MPs that the transfers would be implemented gradually until all the objectives of the reforms were fully realised.
“The overall objective of this policy is to deter over-localisation of teaching profession so as to promote co-existence and cohesion among different communities,” Dr Macharia said.
Following an outcry from teachers affected, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed the Ministry of Education to review the TSC policy on mass transfers.
“I am aware that delocalisation has created some unforeseen challenges that have affected some teachers,” said Uhuru.
But defending the transfers, Macharia said transfers and delocalisation were negotiated and signed by the two teachers’ unions and documented in the CBA.
The good news is that the 2017-2021 CBA has lapsed and will now be replaced by the 2021-2025 agreement.
There had been fresh fears on delocalisation among teachers after the exercise was captured in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report.
