By Amoto Dennis
As physical learning resumes 10 months later, many schools have been reported to have problems related to compliance with the Covid-19 pandemic but that is not the case in the Northeastern part of Kenya.
Before the outbreak of the pandemic, about 800 out of 1,009 non-local teachers were reported to have left the region due to terror attacks.
However, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has not replaced them, therefore leaving a wide rift yet to be filled.
A survey done by the Education News in the region reveals that most public primary schools running from grade one to eight in Mandera West, East, South and Lafey sub-counties have about four teachers each.
According to Principal Secretary in the State Department of Cooperatives Ali Noor Ismail who was on a duty tour of the county most schools are operating below capacity.
The Mandera TSC County Director Yusuf Abdullahi said although the county had always experienced a teacher shortage the mass transfer of the 800 tutors paralyzed the education system in the region.
‘’Filling the gap has always been a tall order since the teaching profession isn’t a cup of tea for most locals,’’ he said, adding that most residents look at teaching as a poorly paying poor man’s job.
‘’They don’t want to be associated with the profession,’’ he noted.
The education chief clarified that in June 2020 only 20 people applied after the government offered the locals 404 teaching vacancies for primary schools.
‘’Regrettably, none applied in September 2020 when the TSC advertised 126 and 60 vacancies for primary and secondary schools respectively,’’ he recalled.
The Kenya county TSC boss, however, asked the government to boost security in the region.
He noted that the government through TSC is presently looking for 56 and 13interns for primary and secondary schools respectively which no one has applied yet.
‘’We need to engage the locals to change their attitude on the teaching profession and ensure teachers are safe,’’ said Ismail who blamed politicians for sprouting new schools without considering teacher availability.
Mandera has 294 public primary schools and 57 secondary schools wherein 109, 586 and 17,300 pupils have reported.
Mandera KNUT Secretary Kullow Mohamed said the teacher employer TSC is duty bound by law to employ and deploy teachers to all public schools in Kenya.
“Failure on the same amounts to blatant discrimination of Mandera county and the northeastern region at large,” said the unionist.
