From a confidential report revealings by Nation, teacher’s hopes have been killed to stop transfer out of counties after the heated discussion between Teachers Service Commission and the Kenya National Union of Teachers held last week.
According to the committee’s report, members agreed that TSC would strictly adhere to the provisions of the code of regulations for teachers in undertaking delocalisation policy.This is for the institutional and newly recruited teachers.
The report of a 10-person special joint committee of the two parties formed to hammer a deal on the contentious issues ahead of the one-week Naivasha retreat failed to reach consensus on four of the six issues it was meant to tackle.
According to the eight-page document, the team could only agree on the controversial policy of delocalisation and transfers, pushing the bulk of the issues to the retreat whose discussions were put on stand on Wednesday after both parties failed to agree on the order of dealing out with the agenda.
However the agreement was bound by a few laws for consideration and fairness. The team agreed that the TSC employ a six- point criterion when making teacher transfers for example teachers above 55 years should not be transfered to new school.
The team further proposed that TSC adopts a human face in the transfers, including the consideration of teachers’ health status and their families. Security in the places of work is also be considered crucial.
If both husband and wife are teachers, the report suggests, the couple should be considered for favorable posting and also important the team proposed, such transfers should “preferably be held at the end of the year.”
There was also a standard declaration for ranks like head teachers. The TSC should consider the status of the school to avoid moving teachers to institutions that were below the level of those they were being moved from.The size of the school, its examinations mean score for the previous three years and the role of the sponsoring institution.
The committee failed to agree on the transfer of Knut officials outside of their areas of jurisdiction.
Union representatives at the committee proposed that TSC moves all the recently transferred Knut officials to their former areas of work for the remaining periods of their term.
The unionists argued that the transfers had adversely affected operations of the union at the branch level. At the time the officials were sitting, the figure of affected union officials was 111, a figure than has since been revised down to 85.
But the TSC team at the talks disagreed with the union’s position arguing it could not offer a blanket transfer reversal of the branch officials.
“All teachers have individual contracts to serve anywhere in the country where their services as required,” the report maintains of TSC members at the committee.
Failed Naivasha talks on Wednesday meant that a discussion on the report could not take off. It is understood Knut insisted that TSC revoke the transfers of the 85 head teachers holding union positions. The head teachers, who are members of Knut were transferred outside their counties this year.
The TSC also rejected a demand to have such head teachers exempted from future transfers, a move that saw deliberations on the issue pushed to another date. Efforts by TSC to persuade Knut to accept discussions on other issues failed.