The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has found itself at the centre of a controversy following claims of State House and politicians controlling recruitment of teachers across the country. 

At the centre of the controversy is the recent trend where Members of Parliament and governors visiting President William Ruto at State House are issued with TSC recruitment letters for onward distribution to their supporters, raising concerns about the fairness and transparency of the process. 

Though not verified, there are claims that more than 20, 000 teachers have been recruited across the country since October last year when the letters began being issued by the State House to politicians who lean towards the Kenya Kwanza administration.

The recruitment letters are part of the goodies, besides money, that politicians who visit the House on the Hill are showered within a bid to “acquire and retain” their loyalty. 

Unlike the individuals who are recruited by TSC, who have served on a two-year contract, earning a monthly stipend of Sh25,000 each, those dubiously recruited through this State channel earn automatic permanent and pensionable employment. 

Stakeholders in the teaching sector now say the new trend denies deserving and qualified teachers the opportunity to secure employment based on merit as it has been hijacked by politicians who reward their loyalists and relatives. 

Loyalty scale  

Interestingly, some of the MPs are now making a killing with the letters which they are selling at between Sh200, 000 and Sh300, 000 each. 

Sources intimated to the People Daily that every legislator (both Senators and Members of the National Assembly) visiting State House is issued with at least 20 TSC recruitment letters, depending on the individual lawmaker’s “loyalty” to the President and Kenya Kwanza administration. 

Legislators vocal enough in the defence of the government and President Ruto are given more letters compared to the silent ones. 

On the other hand, governors are usually handed between 100 and 200 letters, depending on the vastness of their respective counties, loyalty and capacity to mobilise voters in support of the President. 

Yesterday, Murang’a Woman Representative Betty Njeri Maina confirmed to the People Daily that elected leaders from the county who visited the State House last week were each given the letters in appreciation for standing with the president. 

“In fact, I was very disappointed with MPs from my county for boycotting the trip as only Mathioya MP Edwin Gichuki Mugo came. Look at a county like Kiambu that had 11 MPs, with each being given 20 slots each. That means they left with 220 slots for their people,” the Woman Rep said. 

Another lawmaker, Ferdinand Wanyonyi of Kwanza was beaming with joy on Saturday as he traversed his constituency distributing 20 letters he had been issued with by State House to people he perceived to be deserving. 

“Today, I had the honour of issuing TSC appointment letters to teachers from Kwanza Constituency. Congratulations to all the educators stepping into this noble profession. Your dedication will shape the future of our children,” Wanyonyi later posted on his Facebook page. 

So far, the President has met delegations of MPs, senators and governors from counties in Nyanza, Western, Coast, parts of Rift Valley, North Eastern, Eastern save for counties in Ukambani, Nairobi and Mt Kenya where the recruitment letters have been issued to all the participants. 

The development has elicited uproar from the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), which has written to TSC, Office of the President and National Assembly protesting over the attempts to replace merit in the recruitment of teachers with “political affiliation.” 

The union’s Deputy Secretary General Moses Nthurima says despite their protests since Kenya Kwanza took over the reins of power, the situation has continued to deteriorate. 

State’s ‘no comment’ 

“It is unfortunate that TSC has now abdicated her responsibility to hire teachers and handed it over to politicians who are using it a 2027 campaign tool. If the criteria of recruitment is left to how close one is to an MP, what would happen to those who don’t have that access to their lawmakers?” Nthurima questions. 

The trade unionist told the People Daily that TSC has since stopped advertising available vacant positions in newspapers and online as elected leaders have taken over the role. 

Efforts to reach out to TSC Secretary Nancy Macharia bore no fruit as she ignored all calls to her phone and did not respond to text messages. 

Also calls and text messages made to State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed and Head of Presidential Communication Service (PCS) Munyori Buku were ignored. 

In Parliament, the chairman of the Education Committee Julius Melly, whose Tinderet constituency is said to have been one of the major beneficiaries of the President’s recruitment philanthropy, declined to comment on the issue. 

TSC is responsible for hiring and managing teachers, typically through a merit-based recruitment system. Vacancies are first advertised followed with competitive interviews with individuals who graduated earlier being given priority. 

Nthurima said the union was considering moving to court to stop the malpractice. Vihiga branch secretary Sabala Inyeni says the way of doing things undermines the integrity of TSC’s mandate, leading to the hiring of teachers based on political connections rather than qualifications and experience. 

“It is a big concern that this could turn the recruitment of teachers into a political favour, with individuals who may not meet the necessary qualifications being prioritised over others,” Inyeni said. 

Inyeni, while questioning the fairness of the process, says that while addressing unemployment is crucial, it should not come at the cost of undermining established institutions like TSC. 

Makueni MP Suzzane Ndunge Kiamba also called on TSC not to abdicate her mandate to politicians and should instead undertake the recruitment of teachers in accordance with the law. 

Trans Nzoia George Natembeya, while condemning the practice, claimed that elected leaders not supportive of President Ruto and the Kenya Kwanza administration have been left out. 

Early this year, Nairobi senator Edwin Sifuna had called for the need to establish a fair system where employment opportunities are accessible to all qualified individuals without political interference after claiming that some of his ODM colleagues were being enticed with TSC recruitment to support the government.