The Teachers Service Commission has opined on the low turnout for teacher recruitment in Wajir County.
In the recently advertised TSC teaching jobs, some areas, such as the Asal [arid and semi-arid lands], received fewer applicants.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) used affirmative action to fill positions in the understaffed counties of Mandera, Garissa, and Wajir.
Teachers from other regions have resisted deployment in the region in recent years due to insecurity, which frequently targets non-locals.
TSC county director James Ogongo told Nation.Africa in Wajir Town that the number of locals who showed up for the recruitment process was low.
This is despite the commission re-advertising for 325 P1 teachers to fill the vacancy left by teachers who left in 2020 due to insecurity in the region, according to Mr Ogongo.
“The condition was that the locals and non-locals who work within the county to apply,” Mr Ogongo said.
After the recruitment process, the application forms were verified and forwarded to TSC headquarters in Nairobi, and the teachers are expected to report to work by September 1.
He stated that the hiring will relieve pressure on the county’s few teachers and thanked the commission for the exercise.
There were 325 applicants for primary school positions and only 39 for secondary school positions.
Only four of the 325 applicants for primary school teachers are county residents, with the remaining 321 being non-residents.
Wajir County KNUT executive secretary Noor Mohammed told the Nation that the low turnout was due to a lack of awareness among locals about the importance of teaching as a profession.
He also criticized local leaders for failing to sponsor candidates who perform well in the KCSE to attend teaching courses.
Mohammed encouraged locals to take teaching courses because teaching is beneficial.
He complained about TSC’s failure to give priority to teachers on internship in the area for two to three years “and even earning a small salary.”
“They have not recruited even one of the 14 teachers on internship and they are earning just Sh14,000 and the cost of living is extremely high,” Mr Mohammed said.
Due to insecurity in the region, areas near the Somali border, Khoroof Harar, parts of Tarbaj sub-county, and Diff will not receive additional teachers.
Non-local teachers have been fleeing Wajir, Mandera, and Garissa counties as a result of frequent terror attacks.
Exodus of non-local teachers has harmed education across the vast region.
