The new Teachers Service Commission (TSC) chairperson Jamleck Muturi officially reported to work yesterday, a day after he was sworn in.

Muturi, who was appointed for a six-year non-renewable term, was approved last week having been vetted by the National Assembly’s Committee on Education.

Muturi is taking office at a time when the commission   has been facing quorum problems because it had only two commissioners out of the required nine.

The rest of the commissioners had retired. With His appointment and that of Timon Oyucho, at least there is a minimum quorum for the commission to start playing its key mandate. The chairperson will therefore have to oversee negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for teachers, as the current one is coming to an end next month. The budget is almost being finalized and there has been no proper consensus on what to allocate teachers since the treasury decries lack of adequate funds.

Negotiations on the CBA have also not been started yet its late already. Should the new chairperson fail to work with speed and engage the unions concerning 2021-2025 CBA, then teachers should expect nothing this year, with regards to first phase of the CBA.

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The chairman also promised to implement fully and backdate 2017-2021 CBA with teachers who are yet to receive their final phases of the CBA, most of whom are the 17,000 KNUT members. The chairman doesn’t understand what such a move might cost him, and how he is going to go about it. This is what Macharia herself decided as a result of minor disagreements between her and KNUT boss Wilson Sossion. Completing the CBA implementation will therefore mean mediating between the two parties, both of which have hard stances.

Delocalisation of teachers, a policy which has been a bone of contention between the employer and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut), is another matter that Muturi will have to deal with.

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“I will seek to engage all parties involved in a bid to address the contentious issues surrounding this matter,” Muturi told the committee during vetting.

Besides Muturi, Timon Oyucho was approved last week and sworn in on Monday, to serve as a member of TSC, bringing the number of commissioners to four. Five more commissioners will have to be appointed to make it a full house.

President Kenyatta’s appointed selection panel has shortlisted 16 candidates for the post of chairperson and members of the teachers’ service commission, TSC. Interviews scheduled for 24^th march to 25th march 2021.

Among the shortlisted candidates, seven will be interviewed for the position of chairperson of TSC, which was left vacant upon the retiring of the former TSC chairperson, Lydia Nzomo. The remaining nine will be interviewed to fill the position of commission’s member.

Among the shortlisted include:

Shortlisted candidates for the position of Position of chairperson

Shortlisted candidates for the position of commission member

Interviews for the position of the commission member will be held on 25^th march 2021 and members of public were given a time frame to rate the shortlisted candidates and to provide any memoranda about them.

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The interview panel will also hire one commissioner for Rift valley region.

Recruitment Process For TSC Chairperson Begins

The selection panel for the recruitment of nominees for TSC chairperson and a member of the TSC whose six-year term ended in November 2020 has been inaugurated.

The nine-member panel took the oath of office on Thursday. The selection panel will be chaired by Thomas Koyier.

Members include; Dr. Mary Gaturu from the Ministry of Education, Charles Mutinda from Attorney General’s office and Njoki Kahiga from Ministry for Public Service.

More members  are; Margaret Lilan Geno from Federation of Kenya Employers, Richard Kibagendi and Dr Hellen Hazel Misenda representing the registered teachers trade unions, Eva Nyoike from the Association of Private Schools and Prof Stanley Waudo, a prominent educationist.

The members of the selection panel were urged to be diligent in their work, noting that they were carefully selected and represent diverse interests in the education sector.

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The appointment of the selection panel has come at a critical time when the government is rolling out curriculum reforms within the education sector including the Competency Based Curriculum, hence the need to conclude the exercise as soon as possible.

TSC chairperson Lydia Nzomo’s six-year term ended on November 18 last year.

Nzomo was the first person to chair the TSC after it was made a constitutional commission. She took an oath of office in 2014.

The commission is also missing another member of the board of governance, Cleophas Tirop, who vacated office in March 2019, while the remaining six will be due to exit in March this year.

In total, the commission has nine members. With one representing each region of the defunct provinces.

Kennedy Kihara, who represented the Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua during the inauguration, underscored the centrality of public service in the stability of the country and urged the Selection Panel to strictly follow the law while undertaking the exercise so as to present the best suited nominees to the appointing authority.

“The government is undergoing a lot of transformation and we must ensure and facilitate public participation in everything we do,” he observed.

Public Service PS Mary Kimonye, who represented the Public Service CS Prof. Margaret Kobia, urged the Selection Panel to uphold integrity of the selection process and adhere strictly to the stipulated timelines.

“The integrity of the process is what I want to emphasise. The work you are doing… ought to be taken with humility, commitment, honesty and objectivity so that the outcome will be acceptable to all,” said Kimonye.

Teachers Service Commission CEO  Nancy Macharia said the commission is looking forward to having the best chairperson and member from the selection process.

Koiyer assured Kenyans that the team will deliver on their mandate as per the requirements of the law and in the stipulated timelines.