KNUT faults TSC over irregular transfer of teachers in the counties
By Aloys Michael, January 12, 2026The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has strongly criticised the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) over what it terms irregular and unlawful teacher transfers across several counties.
Speaking during a press briefing on Monday, January 12, 2026, the union accused TSC of flouting established education regulations, which require teachers to be posted near their homes unless there are compelling and documented reasons for relocation.
“Teachers should teach near their homes and in their counties; it is not possible that we are always getting teachers from other areas, and yet delocalisation has already been scrapped,” KNUT Trans Nzoia branch Executive Secretary George Wanjala Simiyu said.
“The commission should talk with stakeholders first before making such transfers in our schools. TSC has the responsibility of transferring teachers, but they should not do it in a barbaric manner,” he added.
According to the union, teachers teaching in their home counties show improved overall performance in carrying out their duties.
The union said that the TSC must consistently engage education stakeholders before effecting the transfer of teachers between schools and even their remuneration.
KNUT-TSC tiff
This is not the first instance in which the Union has challenged the TSC’s teacher transfer plans.
In 2025, KNUT resisted the relocation of teachers from Nairobi, warning that such actions could undermine the county’s education system.
The transfers were implemented under the teacher delocalisation policy, which mandates the posting of teachers to schools outside their home areas. The union argued that moving teachers, particularly those who have served in one station for a long time, could negatively affect students’ performance in national examinations.
KNUT further termed the delocalisation exercise punitive and inhumane, claiming that the TSC had already issued transfer letters despite the government having abolished the policy.
The Union had urged the commission to revoke the delocalisation letters that had been issued to teachers.
“Some have already received the delocalisation letters, and some have been left with three months. We knew the delocalisation of teachers was over, but it seems to have come back to Nairobi,” the union said on September 3, 2025.
“We demand that TSC immediately revoke the punitive letters and adhere to our government policy on delocalisation. The only concern is that instead of giving these teachers promotional letters, they put a condition.”