TSC Official Travels 200KMs to Deliver Transfer Letter to Teacher in Hospital

TSC CEO Nancy Macharia addressing teachers at Safari Park Hotel on Tuesday, July 13, 2021
TSC CEO Nancy Macharia addressing teachers at Safari Park Hotel on Tuesday, July 13, 2021.
TSC /Twitter

Members of the Teachers Pressure Group have been aggrieved by the ongoing purge carried out by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) that has seen a number of tutors transferred letters hundreds of kilometers away.

Nelson Kirui, a tutor from Uasin Gishu County, who is also the Rift Valley representative of the Kenya National Teachers’ Pressure Group (KNTPG) was the latest to receive a transfer letter in one of the most unorthodox ways.

According to media reports, a TSC official traveled over 200 kilometres to deliver the transfer letter to Kirui who was at the hospital, waiting for his wife to deliver.

A signpost showing Teachers Service Commission mandated with hiring teachers in Kenya.
A signpost showing the Teachers Service Commission office. TSC is mandated with hiring teachers in Kenya
Twitter

"You can imagine they had to bring my letter from Eldoret where I work, to serve me in Olenguruone, a distance of about 200 kilometres … so heartless,” Kirui stated.

“I requested them to come check on her but they refused. They said their mission was to hand over the letter. After handing over the transfer, they instructed their driver to take photos of the three of us, as I was holding the transfer letter," he added.

He noted that the transfer letter indicated that he was transferred from Uasin Gishu County to Lamu County. 

According to Kirui, he was prompted to sign the letter as the official took photos as proof of receiving the document.

Kirui noted that hours prior to receiving the letter, the TSC official had requested for photos of the wife to prove that she was indeed hospitalised- a fact that Kirui drew the line due to privacy infringement concerns.

"He even called, asking me to share photos of my wife while in the hospital bed to prove that she was indeed hospitalised, but I refused to share the photos as that amounted to infringement of my privacy, and that’s when they decided to drive to the hospital,” he stated.

The move comes just weeks after Martha Omollo, the spokesperson of the Teachers Pressure Group (TPG), was moved to Trans Nzoia County from her Mowlem Supaloaf Primary School in Nairobi.

Omollo, who was pushing for reforms and better welfare of her colleagues, cried foul over what she claimed was an unfair transfer after she was moved from Nairobi.

“I received a call from TSC Nairobi County director through my headteacher who told me that I should be cautious of what I say to the media and that any issues I have I should go through the teachers’ unions,” she stated.

Currently, close to ten tutors have been moved to far-flung areas as part of the crackdown.

Teachers Service Commission (TSC) CEO Nancy Macharia addresses National Assembly's education committee on February 19, 2020.
Teachers Service Commission (TSC) CEO Nancy Macharia addresses National Assembly's education committee on February 19, 2020.
Daily Nation