KNUT raises concern over teacher transfers, funding challenges in Kisumu
By Viola Kosome, May 20, 2026The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Kisumu City Branch have raised concern over the manner in which teachers are being transferred across schools, warning that abrupt transfers are negatively affecting teachers’ welfare and disrupting learning institutions.
Speaking on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, during a meeting that brought together teachers and heads of institutions from Kisumu Central and Kisumu East, KNUT Kisumu Branch Executive Secretary David Obuon said the union was engaging teachers and education officials on issues touching on the Teacher Management Information System, promotions, deployments, transfers and general teacher management.
According to the branch secretary, the meeting was centred on issues affecting the teacher Management Information System, promotions, deployments, transfers and general teacher management.
Obuon noted that while teacher transfers remain the mandate of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), the process should be handled more humanely, especially for teachers nearing retirement.
“A teacher who is about to retire and has already received a retirement notification should not be moved to a far-flung school. They should either be allowed to retire at their current station or be transferred to a nearby school,” he said.
He further expressed concern over what he termed frequent and abrupt transfers of school heads within Kisumu, saying the changes have contributed to stress among teachers and weakened working relationships between teachers and the commission.
Kisumu TSC Directors concerns
According to Obuon, Kisumu has recorded an unusually high turnover of TSC directors since 2021, with the region now expecting its fourth director within a short period.
He further argued that the frequent reshuffles affect continuity in addressing issues affecting teachers and schools.
“When directors come and stay for a very short period before being moved, it becomes difficult to follow up on issues we had already discussed with them. Stakeholders barely get enough time to build working relationships before they are transferred,” he said.
The union also addressed concerns surrounding teachers’ medical cover under the Mwalimu Comprehensive Medical Scheme.
Obuon explained that teachers currently benefit from three layers of medical support, including the Universal Health Coverage programme, the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), and the teachers’ medical cover.
He urged teachers to understand how the different covers operate to avoid exhausting their medical allocations unnecessarily.
“We are encouraging teachers to ask health facilities which part of the bill has been covered by SHIF so that their medical cover does not get depleted very fast,” he said.
Teachers decry funding
KNUT Kisumu Branch Chairman Evans Ndola said the engagement with TSC was important in helping schools align with teacher management systems and ensure smooth operations within institutions.
Ndola also defended headteachers managing comprehensive schools that now host both primary and junior school learners under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system.
He said headteachers and primary school teachers played a key role in nurturing the transition to junior school education and should be supported rather than criticized.
“We are proud that the teachers we represent successfully delivered the first cohort of senior school students. The work teachers are doing deserves support,” he said.
The chairman further highlighted the financial difficulties schools continue to face due to inadequate capitation. According to him, primary schools carry huge student populations and require substantial resources to maintain infrastructure and provide quality learning.
“These children are very active and infrastructure gets damaged frequently. Schools require more resources for repairs, desks, utilities and security,” he explained.
Ndola lamented that many schools are struggling with pending bills for water, electricity and security services due to reduced government funding and rising operational costs.
He also revealed that insecurity remains a growing concern in schools, citing a recent incident in Kisumu West where a school office with reinforced grill doors was vandalized.
“The level of vandalism was extensive and schools are now forced to think about more sophisticated security measures, yet funding remains inadequate,” he said.
The union expressed hope that ongoing reforms in school funding and management would eventually ensure fairness and better support for both teachers and learners across the country.