SAM’S SENSE: Is there corruption in TSC?
I talked with people involved in education this week about the well-being of teachers in the country.
I heard upsetting stories about how there have been common claims of corruption in the teaching profession. It would be very easy for teachers to get what should be basic services at the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) if they paid a fee.
What I learned is that people may have to pay a fee of Ksh.50,000 to Ksh.500,000 in order to get hired, promoted, or moved.
More than 50,000 teachers were hired all at once last year, and there have been too many claims since then that job offers were sent through politicians. that you can’t get a job without contacts. You can’t get promoted or moved without money and contacts. that you need to find another teacher to swap with in order to be moved.
Because of this, I took the conversation to social media and asked teachers to share their thoughts based on their own experiences. Then let me show you based on the feedback, which I must say right away is not scientific.
Someone said, “Leave promotions alone.” If you don’t know someone who knows someone, you can’t get a job!”
The person also said they knew a teacher in his 20th year who was teaching Grade C2 and another who had been teaching for only 7 years but was already teaching Grade C4.
“Replacements have been going to the political class since this regime took office, unlike before when they used to be advertised,” said another user.
“Last December I went for an interview to be promoted,” said a teacher. I had everything they asked for and answered all of their questions correctly, but I was let down that I never got promoted! No one has told me where I didn’t live up to their hopes.
When someone else went for a promotion interview, she was told, “Go add years to your age.” She asked, “Don’t I hate this job yet I’m stuck in it?”
As I read the comments, someone said, “Let’s not pretend; this happens everywhere, in all fields.” I had to rewrite that so it would make more sense.
People in the EACC study of 2023 thought that “a bribe was paid every time a service seeker asked for the TSC number.” If people paid a bride, the study found that they were more likely to get a service from the TSC than if they didn’t.
Over 400,000 teachers now work for TSC. These aren’t just numbers. These are real people whose stories are true. These are folks who have families and work goals.
But what’s more important is that these are the people whose job it is to guide the future of society through the young minds they teach.
I think that if they want to keep doing their job, their boss needs to hear what they have to say. I think that the next steps in their job should be made more clear.
No matter the reason, if it’s not possible to promote everyone to the next level, I think this should be made known and properly understood because every teacher deserves a better future.
That’s why I think it makes sense for the TSC to look into these claims. Check out cases of job stagnation to see how well its career progression infrastructure works.
Check to see when the hiring process changed from based on schools to including the leader in the area. Also, since running the Human Resources department of the education sector is its main job, why not get to know each teacher as a real person?
By doing this, TSC officials at both the national and local levels would be able to learn more about their clients, including what they want, need, and how they can best help them serve children, who are the future of the country.
SAM’S SENSE: Is there corruption in TSC?
