Teachers Service Commission, chairman, Jamleck Muturi, on Monday, December 19, was at pains to account for Ksh720 million allocated to hiring 6000 intern teachers in July 2022.
Led by chairman Joseph Nyutu, the National Assembly Education Committee demanded answers concerning the recruitment of intern teachers and the use of funds allocated to the process.
The committee stated that the delayed process resulted in many Kenyans losing their jobs and, in turn, the loss of man-hours.
“People lost an income that had been budgeted for by the government. Where were you, and why did you delay the recruitment of these teachers? Nyutu questioned.
In response, the TSC Chairman claimed that the recruitment was a delicate process that began immediately but was disrupted due to exam preparations.
“We started the recruitment process in July 2022 but delayed it a bit in October 2022 because of exams,“ Muturi responded.
The committee, nonetheless, stated that the exercise had not been concluded, and the commission could not account for the time and resources spent.
“Recruitment is not a long-term thing, we have been seeing recruitment happening on time. Why did the commission not recruit and funds were allocated,” a committee member stated
It also demanded an account for the money allocated for the recruitment process.
“We want to know if the money is still there. Ksh720 million was allocated. It was supposed to have served Kenyans and not fixing some money in some bank somewhere.”
The committee members wanted the commission to be charged a surcharge for any misappropriation of funds.
“Why does it take so long to identify the number of interns you need? It’s a matter of time before someone owns up and if possible the commission should be surcharged. We will surcharge you. We will calculate how the money was spent to the last cent,” one of the committee members stated.
TSC, in its defence, claimed that the funds had not been spent, and it intended to channel it towards the recruitment process they were dedicated to.
“I agree. These people have not started working. There is no money lost its just that Kenyans have not earned their salary,” the TSC chairman stated.
The committee further questioned how the commission could conduct the next recruitment on December 23, 2022.
The 6000 intern teachers were to be hired on a 12-month contract from July 2022.
On Saturday, December 17, TSC extended the recruitment deadline for 35,000 teachers to December 23, 2022. The commission advertised vacancies of 9,000 positions for permanent and pensionable terms of service for secondary school teachers.
Other advertised positions included teachers’ internship vacancies in 21 junior secondary schools and 4,000 positions in primary schools.
