Keep off Teacher-recruitment, Unions Tell Politicians
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) have jointly asked politicians to keep off teacher recruitment exercise.
According to Knut secretary general Collins Oyuu and his Kuppet counterpart Akelo Misori, the teacher recruitment and management is a sole mandate of the Teachers Service Union (TSC).
The two spoke during the 62nd annual delegates’ conference at Citam in Kisumu on Wednesday.
This follows an emergence that some politicians were purportedly recruiting teachers after the government announced the plans to recruit 30,000 teachers.
Oyuu maintained that politicians will not be allowed to interfere with the recruitment of teachers in the country.
“The recruitment of teachers is within the mandate of the commission. Anybody purporting to have exercise in recruitment should be condemned in the highest terms possible,” he said.
He criticised the centralization of teacher recruitment which gives politicians room to influence their relatives to be recruited.
“We cannot subject this noble profession to selfish politicians meddling with matters of education. Politicians should completely keep off. This is not a chief’s affair,” Oyuu said.
“This is a professional matter. If you want us to respect you then leave teachers alone and leave the management of teachers to TSC.”
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The KNUT boss challenged politicians to mention and address any problem with the commission but not to purport to be an agency to recruit.
“It is wrong and we shall not allow it,” he added.
On his part, KUPPET boss Akelo Misori told politicians to stop meddling in the recruitment of teachers saying they should keep off the exercise.
“We have been disturbed with what is going on in social media that the independent institutions are not transacting their businesses,” he said.
Misori said parliament should do its legislation and oversight role and allow TSC to register and employ teachers, and advise on quality.
“We don’t want to see MCAs or MPs collecting names of those to be employed around marketplaces. We will not allow this,” Misori said.
He warned that next year will be a tough time for President William Ruto’s government should it fail to honour the teacher’s demands.
