Kenyans have persistently raised concerns about the avarice at the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), but there is no demonstrable change in behaviour among those running the agency.

Despite being an independent institution, the teachers’ employer can no longer disguise the fact that it has outsourced its role to politicians.

MPs have been publicly asking trained teachers to obtain appointment letters from their offices. Politicians have been dishing out appointment letters to candidates at funerals and even bars. This is an unfortunate classic case of using politics to award public sector jobs

Questions have been raised circumstances under which the State House has been dishing out appointment letters to politicians, clear evidence that job allocations within government institutions have been politicised.

At the end of the day, teaching jobs end up with relatives and friends of politicians at the expense of qualified candidates with no access to MPs.

As one governor pointed out, access to employment letters is not equal among leaders but is restricted to those closely associated with the government.

Individuals with financial means are able to secure positions, while those without must rely on government support. This disadvantages the most vulnerable and deserving teachers.

This unprofessional manner of hiring creates an imbalance in the distribution of teachers and calls to question the independence of the TSC.

The Kenya Kwanza government had promised in its manifesto to hire 116,000 teachers within two years of taking office. So far, 56,000 permanent teachers and 20,000 interns have been recruited.

Besides the irregularity, the TSC is on the spot over the recent promotions of 151,611.

The commission is accused of promoting teachers who scored 80 percent in the interviews at the expense of those who scored 100 percent.

And despite the Employment and Labour Relations Court in 2019 ruling that the age cap of 45 years imposed by TSC for recruiting teachers was unconstitutional and discriminatory, the commission is yet to implement the decision.

The court ruled that the commission violated the right to non-discrimination and denied deserving teachers the opportunity to serve for the remaining years until the retirement age of 60.

It is time to call out the impunity at TSC.