A severe shortage of teachers in primary schools has hit the Tiaty constituency in Baringo following mass transfers of teachers after the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) lifted the delocalization policy, allowing teachers to go to their home areas.
According to county human resource officer James Kisabei, both Tiaty West and East subcounties have a shortfall of 323 teachers, with West having 187 and East having 136.
Speaking during a county national departmental heads meeting chaired by county commissioner Stephen Kutwa in his Kabarnet boardroom, Mr. Kisabei also disclosed that the suspension of the delocalization programme late last year resulted in the majority of schools operating without administrators, a situation that has put implementation of education programmes in jeopardy.
Apart from lifting of the policy by TSC, the human resource officer stated that majority of non-local teachers and administrators had requested transfers from the region because of security threats occasioned by constant bandit attacks, leaving learning institutions understaffed.
He noted that Tiaty West, with 79 primary schools, requires 518 teachers, while Tiaty East, with 57 learning institutions, needs 419 teachers to operate at optimal staffing levels.
“Currently in Tiaty West, there are only 316 teachers on duty and in Tiaty East, we have 285 teachers on duty, with some schools having as few as two teaching staff. There is a serious shortage of manpower across all schools,” Kisabei stated.
The official informed the meeting that early this year TSC advertised for the positions of head teachers and deputies, which attracted few applicants, forcing the teacher’s employer to fill the huge vacancies with the existing unqualified teachers in acting capacities.
In November 2022, parliament ordered TSC to reverse the delocalization programme to allow teachers working in faraway places to go back to their home counties.
Parliament, through a private motion, noted that the policy implemented in 2018 was too punitive and has caused untold mental anguish to teachers, especially those who are sick.
The meeting was informed that illiteracy levels in Tiaty, known for banditry attacks and cattle rustling activities, especially in the Silale region, stand at more than 90 percent, a situation members were told was attributed to outdated cultures like female genital mutilation, early marriages and cattle rustling activities.
The meeting heard that retrogressive practises coupled with harsh climatic conditions had frustrated the educational pursuits of children, leading to the region lagging behind in all aspects of development.
Out of Sh800 million in Equalisation Fund allocated to Baringo County in the 2023–2024 financial year by Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA), Tiaty West and East will get a lion’s share of Sh421.8 million to enable the marginalised area left behind to catch up with other developed regions of the country.
By Joshua Kibet
