Up to 10,000 new teachers to be hired

Pupils of Wambi Primary School in Muhoroni, where MP James Oyoo broke the ground on July 29, 2014, for the building of modern classrooms at a cost of Sh5 million. The Teachers Service Commission has asked prospective candidates to apply for 10,000 teaching jobs in different counties by August 11. PHOTO | TOM OTIENO | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• Funds for the fresh recruitment were set aside in this year’s budget, which Finance Cabinet Secretary Henry Koskei presented to Parliament in June.
• Reacting to the announcement, Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary-General Wilson Sossion described the additional teachers as “a drop in the ocean.”

By OUMA WANZALA
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More than 10,000 new teachers are to be hired starting next week.

Of these slots, 5,000 teachers will replace those who have left the service due to retirement, death or other causes, while 5,000 will boost the numbers of the existing workforce, said Mr Gabriel Lengoiboni, the secretary of the Teachers Service Commission.

 

Funds for the fresh recruitment were set aside in this year’s budget, which Finance Cabinet Secretary Henry Koskei presented to Parliament in June.

He allocated Sh2.5 billion for the hiring of 5,000 additional teachers.

Mr Lengoiboni has now asked qualified teachers who are also registered with the commission to apply to school and district education boards before August 11. That means prospective candidates have only 11 days left.

Candidates can apply in any of the 47 counties where the vacancies exist. Out of the additional teachers, Mr Lengoiboni said 2,479 would be posted to teach in primary schools, while 2,521 would be sent to secondary schools.

Among the 5,339 teachers who will replace those who have left service, 4,663 would be sent to primary schools, while 676 will go to secondary schools.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

“Eligible candidates should be Kenya citizens aged 45 years and below,” Mr Lengoiboni said.

Those to teach in primary schools must be holders of P1 certificates and should submit their applications to the teachers commission county directors.

Teachers seeking to fill secondary school slots must have a minimum of a diploma in education. Unlike their primary counterparts, they will be required to apply to the secretaries of school boards and then submit copies of their applications to the commission’s county directors.

Preference will be given to applicants who have not been previously employed by the commission.

“Those who had applied earlier must apply afresh since a new merit list for the 2014-2015 financial year will be generated,” he said.

Mr Lengoiboni said the Teachers Service Commission will only deal with county selection panels and school boards.

“No individual application to the commission will be considered,” he said.

Recently, some governors and Members of Parliament proposed that they be given a role in the hiring of teachers.

FREE OF CHARGE

Mr Lengoiboni told prospective applicants that the recruitment will be free of charge and warned them against falling prey to fraudsters who might try to extort money from unsuspecting candidates while claiming to be in a position to secure them jobs.

Any suspected fraud, he said, should be reported to the nearest police station, county directors, sub-county staffing officers or to the Teachers Service Commission headquarters.

Reacting to the announcement, Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary-General Wilson Sossion described the additional teachers as “a drop in the ocean.”

“The union believes that this is deceiving Kenyans,” he said. “Quality education is under threat as we cannot achieve it with such a huge shortage of teachers.”

He said the commission should have hired a lot more additional teachers. He also proposed that the Teachers Service Commission make the hiring continuous instead of waiting for the annual recruitment.