Teachers are anxious ahead of mass transfers next term as the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) carries out rationalisation intended to balance staff across the country.

Commission chief executive Nancy Macharia said the exercise is meant to ensure all schools have a balanced teacher to learner ratio before the start of the new academic calendar. Schools are scheduled to open for the 2022 first term on April 25.

The countrywide exercise started yesterday and will see teachers in both primary and secondary schools across the country transferred to various schools.

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In a circular to all TSC regional directors, Ms Macharia said despite numerous efforts by the commission to address teacher shortages, the situation is compounded by irregular teacher distribution.

“If unchecked, this will adversely impact learning outcomes in our learning institutions,” said Ms Macharia.

She directed the regional directors to coordinate with county directors in their respective regions and undertake teacher rationalisation with a view to ensuring equitable distribution across the schools.

“Any arising movements conducted in the local areas must have a human face and must be well discussed with all relevant offices to ensure equity for all of our learners in tandem with existing staffing norms,” said Ms Macharia.

According to TSC, the shortage of teachers in primary and post primary institutions stands at 114,581.

Among the factors to be considered when transferring the teachers is their age, health status, disabilities, marital status and time served in the current school.

Teachers aged 56 years and above will be exempted from the transfer, as well as those with proven cases of terminal illness. Others are teachers with disability and who have the necessary certification.

“The committee will evaluate each case on its own merit, taking into consideration the supporting medical documents, availability and accessibility to the appropriate medical facilities, among other factors in the proposed station,” she said.

The transfers are, however, a big relief for teachers who are couples and who have declared their marital status, as the commission ordered that they be transferred in the same neighbourhood where possible.

The delocalisation programme by the TSC has been a thorn in the flesh of teachers when it comes to transfers. Teachers have been complaining that the transfers have been separating families.

Teachers must also have served in a station for a period of not less than three years, or five years for North Eastern and other areas, respectively, since their first appointment to qualify for the transfers, unless otherwise authorised by the commission’s secretary.

Priority should also be given to teachers who have applied for the transfer and are eligible.

Ms Macharia said in cases where teachers meet the criteria for transfer, the commission will consider first in, and gender balance where applicable as well as teacher’s security.

“Henceforth, teachers transfer will be a continuous exercise to address staffing gaps and to ensure equitable distribution and optimal teacher utilisation,” she added. She said the staff balancing exercises is intended to be complete by May 9.

The Teachers Service Commission, TSC, has issued a statement on the allegations that it is planning mass transfers and delocalization of teachers beginning April this year. Dr. Nancy Macharia has rubbished the claims, which had all indicators that mass transfer is looming, including her letter which proposed transfer of heads who have overstayed in one station.

Macharia says the circular dated February 26th, 2021, was only for the purposes of carrying out routine data collection of staffing status in schools.

In her interview with the media, Macharia made it clear that TSC will not transfer heads and other teachers due to the current Covid 19 pandemic situation and coming national examinations.

“The Commission, therefore, wishes to assure teachers that the Commission does not plan to effect any mass transfers as alleged in the newspaper story. Teachers must be left to continue conducting their normal teaching duties and conduct national examinations without any interference.” said Macharia.

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According to Macharia, the Commission will only fill those vacant positions created by natural attrition.

At least school heads and the targeted teachers will have a sigh of relief.

The mass delocalization exercise began in January, 2018 and continued in April, August and December of the same year. From April, 2019 the Commission slowed down the transfers as only a few administrators were moved.

KNUT had earlier in opposed the planned transfers and assured the commission of a grand strike should they go ahead and implement the BBI policy on delocalization.

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KNUT Secretary General Wilson Sossion confirmed yesterday that the union will oppose TSC mass transfer and delocalization plans which will be rolled out in April.

Sossion claimed the delocalization policy was sneaked in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report which he said is what TSC is using to institute the schools’ management shake-up.

Through a writing to  the BBI secretariat, Sossion said: “The policy was not proposed by Kenyans but was unjustly sneaked into the report to drive TSC’s agenda of delocalisation of teachers.”

“If TSC executes massive delocalisation of teachers in April, then it shall be met with collective industrial action to safeguard our families and the teaching profession.”

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The BBI report proposed that the Ministry of Education adopts policy guidelines that discourage local recruitment and staffing of teachers, depending on the circumstances.

“To strengthen social ties and promote unity among all the communities, stakeholders recommended that the Ministry of Education reviews the curricula to introduce and integrate the teaching of national unity, character, and cohesion to learners during their formative or early years,” says the report.

Even as unions rejected the delocalisation and transfers, TSC has always insisted that the transfers were in line with the provisions of the code of regulations for teachers and Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) signed between TSC and their unions.

“The Commission finds it an act of dishonesty and deceit on the part of the unions’ leadership to continue making public pronouncements calculated at misleading the same teachers the leaders are supposed to guide,” Macharia said.

The mass transfers and the delocalisation exercise has been a bone of contention between TSC and Knut.

In 2018, 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.

Defending the transfers, Macharia said transfers and delocalisation were negotiated and signed by the two teachers’ unions and documented in the CBA.