TSC letting terrorists win, North Eastern leaders claim

North Eastern leaders on Thursday protested the decision by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to move all non-local teachers in terror-prone areas to urban centers.

Speaking at Parliament buildings, the leaders, led by Eldas MP Adan Keynan faulted the move saying that by withdrawing the teachers from the region, TSC is playing into the hands of Al-Shabaab whom they claim plan to terrorise Kenyans by instilling fear.

“There is no difference between TSC’s move to withdraw the teachers and what Al-Shabaab is doing because both involve punishing innocent people,” said Mr. Keynan.

“If you join public service you should be ready to serve in any part of Kenya. The terrorist attack at Wajir is not enough to justify the blanket decision by the commission,”said Mr. Keynan.

On Tuesday, TSC CEO Nancy Macharia told the Parliamentary Committee on Education that the commission is moving all non-local teachers following a terrorist attack at Qarsa village, Wajir County on February 16 in which four people among them three teachers were shot by Al-Shabaab militants.

The incident was followed by a mass exodus of the teachers who are now fearing for their lives, with the Kenya National Union of Teachers urging the government to make it a policy that local communities get teachers from the locality.

The TSC boss also lamented over the shortage of teachers in the country, she told the committee members that the country has a shortage of 104,000 teachers.