KENYA: There is Need for More Consultations on Mass Transfer of Principals, says Bishop Muhatia

NAKURU JANUARY 9, 2018(CISA) – Bishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba, chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) Commission for Education and Religious Education has called for more consultations on the mass transfer of Principals in the country.

“There are concerns that have been raised by various partners and stakeholders in education which I think Teachers Service Commission (TSC) need to look at. There are concerns being raised such as teachers with low qualification being promoted, there seems to be vindictiveness in the transfer of principals,” Bishop Muhatia of the Catholic Diocese of Nakuru told CISA January 9.

“These are concerns being raised by the stakeholders and it is important for the TSC to address them so that the good intention behind the mass transfer of principals can be maintained,” added the bishop.

School Principals received their letters last year and the transfers have since begun. Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) opposed the directive urging the teachers to oppose it wholly.

“We totally oppose the unilateral decision to transfer 557 principals. We consider the idea ill conceived and we suspect the plotters do not mean well as this action could, at the end, negatively affect the sector in many ways including demoralising hardworking and successful teachers who are taking this action as punishment and poor performance in the affected schools,” said the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Wilson Sossion.

The move by TSC is part of enhancing cohesion with a view of delocalizing administration of schools.

While announcing the mass transfers that will affect 557 head teachers, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) said the changes are part of a new delocalization programme meant to promote national integration.