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Dishing out TSC letters a violation of meritocracy

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By  Editorial

A not-so-well-kept secret is out. The main job of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), which is the recruitment of teachers, is being done elsewhere. This independent agency has apparently ceded its key mandate to the State House.

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula must definitely know what he is talking about. He has just confirmed a huge employment scandal in which the TSC only plays a subsidiary role.

According to Mr Wetang’ula, he has taken MPs to the State House, where President William Ruto generously handed out TSC employment letters to them to dish out to their constituents.

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But to his dismay, the Speaker says, the letters are being sold at Sh400,000 each to the desperate parents and guardians of unemployed teachers. In this revelation, Mr Wetang’ula has just echoed widespread concerns about interference that is undermining the independence of the TSC.

Outraged, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) have denounced the dishing out of batches of TSC appointment letters at State House as an illegal practice that disadvantages those who are not politically connected.

As an independent constitutional commission, the TSC should not be at the beck and call of politicians. This comes just after the TSC advertised 20,000 permanent and pensionable teaching vacancies in junior schools.

Last year, a lawmaker claimed that 11 MPs from Kiambu County were each given 22 TSC appointment letters as a reward to government-friendly politicians. This is not just immoral, as Speaker Wetang’ula has put it, but it is also an assault on meritocracy and a denial of opportunities to thousands of deserving Kenyans.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has described the selling of the TSC letters as a criminal activity and pledged to work with the commission to address the issue.

This blatant interference with TSC operations also casts doubts on the competence of those recruited. The TSC must reclaim its autonomy to enable transparent, merit-based vetting and hiring.

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