Category Featured

Teachers Service Commission has retracted its earlier communication on more than 3,500 teachers missing April salary as result of not declaring their wealth.

Through short message service (SMS), the commission has assured teachers that it will not stop salary for employees who failed to declare their wealth.

“Please ignore posts circulating on social media purporting that TSC will stop salary for employees who did not comply with the requirements of Declaration of Income Assets and Liabilities.

The Commission will communicate to the affected employees individually when normalcy resumes,” read the message sent to teachers.

Early on, the commission through a circular had indicated that it will stop the employees’ salaries for Non-Compliance from March and April 2020 payrolls.

“Over 3,500 employees (secretariat staff and teachers) did not declare their Wealth within the stipulated deadline. Consequently, the Commission has stopped the employees’ salaries for Non-Compliance from March and April 2020 payrolls,” it reads.

Affected teachers were to be reinstated after confirmation in writing by their immediate supervisor indicating they have been in the service thus been teaching all along and the letter forwarded to the TSC headquarters.

“They are expected to have a confirmation in writing by their immediate supervisor indicating they have been in the service thus been teaching all along and the letter forwarded to the TSC headquarters,”  read part of the circular.

The move comes amid rising concerns over the miscalculated move taken by the commission in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic.

Kuppet

At the same time, the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers, Kuppet, as lashed out at the teachers’ employer for threatening to expunge over 3,500 teachers and staff from the payroll.

“It would be insensitive on the Commission’s part to be punishing teachers during this pandemic when other government departments are issuing temporary reprieves to citizens and foreigners for non-compliance with certain protocols during this crisis. For instance, the government has extended an indefinite extension for foreign nationals whose work permits have expired,” advises Kuppet.

In the middle of the coronavirus global pandemic, the Teachers Service Commission, TSC, has said that it will not pay over 3,500 teachers and secretariat staff who by the 14th of January 2020 failed to file their wealth declaration.

The commission released the sad news through a circular dated the 14th of April 2020.

In the circular, TSC CEO said, those who did not comply with the government’s directive of filing the wealth declaration online have been removed from the TSC payroll.

However, the commission says that those teachers will only be returned to the payroll after meeting certain conditions.

The conditions stated by TSC includes; writing a letter through the headteacher or principal or supervisor, explaining why they did not follow the instructions set by the government of declaring their wealth.

Besides, their immediate supervisors must confirm that the teachers or the workers are currently active.

The circular reads ” The Headteacher/Principal/Supervisor to confirm in writing, that the employee has been in active service, and /or has been teaching all along”

After writing the letter it should be signed by the supervisor, and forwarded to the teachers service commission headquarters through the county director stroke sub-county director, says the circular.

All the Kenyan government employees were mandated by law to file their wealth declarations online for the year 2017/2019. The procedure entailed declaring individual Income, Assets, and Liabilities by the 31st of December 2019 through the Wealth Declaration online portal.

More than 3,500 TSC employees have faced the wrath of the commission after failing to declare their 2017/2019 Income, Assets, and Liabilities by 31 December, 2019 through the TSC Wealth Declaration online portal.

This will doubtlessly add salt to already injured teachers bearing in mind that covid-19 pandemic has brought the economy to its knees.

In a circular dated April 14, 2020, TSC boss Dr. Nancy Macharia has noted that teachers and secretariat staff who failed to declare wealth will miss April 2020 salary.

“However, over 3,500 employees (secretariat staff and teachers) did not declare their Wealth within the stipulated deadline. Consequently, the Commission has stopped the employees‘ salaries for Non–Compliance from March and April 2020 payrolls.” said TSC CEO Nancy Macharia.

Last year TSC cautioned that teachers who fail to submit or gives false or misleading information is liable to a fine of Kshs. 1,000,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding (1) one year or both upon conviction.

Reinstatement

For the affected employees to be reinstated back on payroll, the commission has indicated that they have to fulfill of the following requirements:

1.  The respective employees (staff and teachers) are required to write a letter through their immediate Supervisor/Head teacher/Principal to explain why they did not adhere to the instructions to declare their wealth as stipulated in law.
2. The Headteacher/Principal/Supervisor to confirm in writing that the employee has been in active service and /or has been teaching all along.  The letter should be validated and forwarded to TSC Headquarters by the TSC County Director/TSC Sub–County.
3. To fast track reinstatement, the letters be scanned and emailed to TSC  headquarters with a covering letter listing the forwarded cases, by the TSC County Director.
4. The scanned documents should be submitted to the HRM Digits group  emails:– allhrmdigits@gmail.com and copy to hrmdigits@tsc.go.ke and ddippd@tsc.go.ke
5. For reconciliation purposes, indicate on the Remarks column of the  Excel list sent to the County, the status of the specific employee such as; – teaching/in service, retired, resigned, interdicted etc. The updated excel sheet to be submitted to the emails in No. 4.

Below is the copy of the TSC Circular about TSC stoping salaries of over 3,500 Teachers and staff.

 

Circular-TSC-Stops-Salary-of-Over-3500-Teachers

All the Kenyan government employees were mandated by law to file their wealth declarations online for the year 2017/2019. The procedure entailed declaring individual Income, Assets, and Liabilities by the 31st of December 2019 through the Wealth Declaration online portal.

Education CS George Magoha has urged parents to keep calm and avoid listening to fearmongers spreading rumours exams will be postponed.

“I urge Kenyans to listen to one voice, the anointed voice…,” he said on Sunday during the daily briefing on Covid-19.

“I’m aware parents are very apprehensive, but they should be fair to themselves because the government has not pronounced itself on the matter,” he said.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has criticized the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for tampering with the payroll of teachers by halting the Sacco loan remittances and other third party deductions.

The teachers union had while effecting the move said it would held cushion teachers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I call on TSC not to tamper with the payroll of teachers by halting the Sacco loan remittances and other third party deductions, it will hurt both the teachers and the Saccos,” said Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion in a statement.

Rival union, the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) had proposed that TSC stop statutory/loan deductions during Covid-19 pandemic.

“KUPPET proposal that TSC should stop statutory/loan deductions during the pandemic period, and treated with contempt, unless such proposal originates from SACCO management who are teachers,” said the outspoken unionist.

Defending SACCOs capacity, Sossion said that teachers’ SACCOs in Kenya have turned out to be the best managed and performing on the continent among the teaching service.

“Furthermore, this proposal is not born out of any consultation all teachers’ SACCOs were started by KNUT, and we cannot afford or allow any action that will see them go down. It is our duty and responsibility to defend, protect and continue oiling the wheels of SACCOs and Cooperative movement,” added the unionist.

He said that the Union will not allow the Commission to interfere with the teacher’s, SACCOs arrangement as this will have far reaching repercussions in post Covid-19 era.

“The National Executive Council (NEC) of KNUT, after wide consultations with members and teachers, hereby advices strongly, not to tamper with the payroll in whichever way whatsoever,” Sossion ruled.

SACCOs, he said are economic lifeline of teachers and their dependents, and if their operations are halted through failure to effect loan deductions, the future of teachers and their families will be ruined for ever.

Sossion added that besides being illegal and retrogressive in nature, the proposal by the Commission is bound to roll-back the gains already made by teachers and their SACCOs.

“Moreover, the proposal did not go through the mandatory requirement of consultation and public participation. If teachers are paid full salaries, there is no logical reason to stop effecting statutory/loan or SACCO deductions and other third party deductions,” said the unionist.

The letter is copied to line Cabinet secretaries including Simon Chelugui, (Labour and Social Protection, Prof. George O. Magoha, (Education, Science & Technology) and

Dr. Lydia Nzomo, Chairperson, Teachers Service Commission.

There is obviously no lesser death but some deaths, more than others, descend with added malice and clearly drive a stake in the heart of society.

The death of author and journalist Ken Walibora is one such death. It was unexpected, unfair and unbelievable.
Walibora was the author of many books in Kiswahili, the most famous being Siku Njema.

In my view, his contribution to the language rivals that of Julius Nyerere, Shaaban Robert, and Wallah Bin Wallah, but I will leave the measure of his contribution to be determined by Kiswahili scholars.

Different schools

Each of the boys in our class had come from different schools from all over Kenya, and from all walks of life. Ken had come by way of Olekejuado High School but he was from Trans Nzoia, Cheranganyi to be exact.

I remember him then as a devout Christian who was later to profess Jehovah Witness convictions but with an ever-inquisitive mind.

We all knew him then as Kennedy Wafula Waliaula, and had nicknamed him «Alufa,» which was based on a reverse reading of the name «Wafula.» He was a great soccer player, a lanky boy who played the goalkeeper and was the captain of the school soccer team.

At one time, he actually broke his leg while playing for Koelel and spent six weeks with a humongous orthopaedic cast and crutches. He looked cool with it and even got a special dispensation to sit special end of term exams.

Yours truly, then called philosopher, mainly for reading huge, dog-eared novels, was the unofficial reporter for all school games and other functions and events.

At one time, we gatecrashed into a Catholic function just so that we could be within striking distance of interesting visitors from Njoro Girls High School who were easy on the eyes of the beauty-famished boys. For our troubles, six of us were sent home for two weeks.

Notable author

To complete his three A-Level subjects, Walibora also studied Kiswahili under Mr Alex Ngure, who was to become a notable author himself after publishing Utoro and Fasihi Simulizi.

Truth be told, however, we focused more on reading novels than reading textbooks.

The son of a teacher, it was evident from our discussion those days that Walibora was quite well read. His exposure to literature was however more structured, unlike some of us whose reading was more of the free reign kind.

Walibora was a genius when it came to languages. People know his prowess in Kiswahili. What they don’t know is that he could write equally well in English. Indeed English was his language of deep scholarship. He wrote his PhD in English and published several academic papers in the language.

At Koelel, he penned many poems and regaled us with many mashairi that he composed. I hope some of those early works, which he once told me he had misplaced, will be re-discovered and published posthumously.

After A-Level, Walibora trained as a probation officer at the Kenya School of Government while I pursued journalism. We used to meet while we were in different colleges in Nairobi. He envied my luck. And I felt bad about it knowing where his heart really was.

There is something to be said about the nature of abiding resilience and focus. Those with evergreen resilience always get what they ask for. Walibora never gave up the pursuit of a career in letters.

A great deal has also been said about the correlation between great grades and success.

News casting

While still working as a probation officer, Walibora eventually found his way to the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, initially in a talk show, before gravitating into news casting. He later pursued further education at Ohio State University where he finished his PhD and later taught at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, before returning to Kenya.

Along the way, he worked for NTV as a news anchor. He was until his death a senior lecturer at Riara University in Nairobi.

When talked last year, he told me he had been charged with establishing a centre for the study of international languages at the university.

In life, however, even incidental experiences are a resource.

«I am an avid reader and good keen observer and patient listener. Like all humans, I make mistakes from time to time, regret them, and I apologise, but most importantly, I learn from them and move on. I strive to attain more humility in all spheres of my life in good times and bad times, and to always avoid being prejudicial and celebrating another person’s crisis or calamity. I want to appreciate people more and not to judge them harshly by relying on one-sided sources».

Clearly, Walibora desired to be understood in a particular way, an acknowledgement that no one is an open book, not even the writers of books.

The Teachers Service Commission has been asked not to remit teachers’ loan deductions to banks.

This is in line with the government’s plea for leniency from lenders in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers said several financial institutions are yet to provide customers with reprieves on loan repayments.

Many teachers’ payslips are heavily deducted to settle various loans with banks and other financial institutions, and this leaves them with so little at the end of the month, said Akello Misori, the Kuppet secretary-general.
Mr Misori said whereas the little teachers got after deductions could previously sustain them under normal circumstances, the amount is no longer tenable under the prevailing times.

In a letter to TSC Chief Executive Nancy Macharia, Kuppet now wants the employer to inform financial institutions that it shall not be remitting teachers’ deductions.

«We urge the commission to withhold deductions for teachers’ loans and liaise with financial institutions on the same on behalf of teachers,» said Misori.

He said Kuppet is not able to state with certainty the extent of compliance with the appeal for leniency on loans, and asked TSC to intervene.

«Some banks are dragging their feet on implementing the directive, or creating unnecessary means-tests on a policy that should benefit all workers,» said Misori in a letter dated April 14.

He said the policy directive to cushion workers applies to all loans that were running at the time of the declaration.
This was aimed at boosting efforts to cushion families and businesses from the effects of reduced business activity during the coronavirus crisis.

Kuppet said only a handful of financial institutions have offered various reprieves, from outright loan holidays to the suspension of the levying of interest. The union also said only a few financial institutions have communicated with account holders on the same.

Misori said with schools closed, many teachers are currently far away from their bank branches and are unable to make individual applications for relief.

The Teachers Service Commission is banking on the support of Northern Kenya communities to ensure employees posted there are safe.

The commission will also engage other stakeholders to ensure learning is not disrupted for thousands of children because the lives of teachers are threatened.

Non-local teachers working in Mandera, Garissa and Wajir counties have been the targets of attack by al Shabaab militia with several killed and others injured.

Three teachers were killed in a suspected Shabaab attack in Kamuthe in Garissa, in a pre-dawn attack on January 13.
The attack led to the transfer of 2,340 non-local teachers from the county.

The situation was so bad that TSC boss Nancy Macharia on February 26 said they would not post teachers to Northeastern if the insecurity situation was not fixed.

But in its audit report of the first year of the 2019-23 strategic plan, the commission seems to have softened its stance.

TSC will enhance collaboration with local communities and government agencies to address insecurity in certain parts of the country, the report signed by chairperson Lydia Nzomo reads.

Members of Parliament from Northeastern failed to agree with ministry officials on how to remedy the withdrawal of the teachers.

The situation caused a learning crisis with students attending classes with no teachers to teach them.

The MPs protested that the mass transfer of teachers was inconsiderate, impulsive and discriminatory.

They also demanded to have locals enrolled in teacher training colleges with lower entry requirements and then posted to local schools following the staff crunch.

The teachers are serving them and communities should work with them for their children to be educated, commission communications head Beatrice Wababu said Tuesday.
The commission

said the communities should provide the first line of security to people serving them and other Kenyans.

The killings are only targeting teachers and not other professionals such as doctors and nurses. It shows clearly that some locals might be involved, she said.

The commission said it will encourage residents from the region to join the teaching profession.

We will talk with the communities so that those people who get C+ are encouraged to join teaching, TSC said.

In the year under review, TSC hired 13,993 teachers. Some 1,364 were posted to Wajir, Garissa, and Mandera to enhance equity. Another 5,906 teachers were promoted to various grades.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has applauded the efforts by Kenyatta University Students for coming up with a ventilator prototype to help in the fight against COVID-19.
Kenyatta University students developed ventilators for COVID-19 patients who developed difficulty breathing since they are only a handful in the country.

Speaking during a presser today, April 16, 2020, the Head of State commended the efforts initiated by Kenyans of goodwill to win the fight against COVID-19, adding that everyone should take responsibility.

The invention was done by 16 KU students in under one week and detailed the prototype, a cubical unit made of hard silver plastic parts with pipes connecting to an oxygen tank and two other pipes delivering the air.

The mechanical unit is controlled from a computer on top of it from where doctors can monitor the concentration of oxygen in the air that the machine is pumping into the patients’ lungs as well as control the ventilators’ intensity.
If approved, the University Vice-Chancellor indicated that the institution was capable of producing 50 ventilators per week.

We came up with the idea to make a ventilator when we heard that there were in short supply and with almost all the countries in lockdown, we could not import them from elsewhere, he said.

Further, President Uhuru announced a welfare package for health workers to cushion medical workers on the frontline against COVID-19.
He also directed medical insurance companies to cover hospital staff managing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hundreds of private school teachers in Nakuru County have had their contracts suspended as the school shutdown heads to the third month.

President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered all schools closed on March 13 to counter the spread of Covid-19 in Kenya.
According to letters sent to the teachers by their employers and interviews with officials of the Private Schools Owners Association, the contracts have been suspended indefinitely.

The schools, in their notifications to the teachers, said the contracts remain suspended because of inability to sustain their payrolls.

Nakuru County Private Schools Owners Association Chairman John Waweru said the institutions took the decision due to the prevailing circumstances.

«Some of our members have delayed the decision as they try to get school fees arrears from parents to keep their staff on the payroll,» said Mr Waweru.

April and May

In one of the letters seen by The Standard, a private school has notified its teachers that the suspension of contract for the month of April and May will be treated like a normal holiday.

«This is taken to save the situation of any legitimacy that may arise later on. We all feel for you but we have nothing to do but to protect the school for future sustainability,» a letter to the staff by St Joseph’s Kirandich Secondary school in Nakuru noted.

The school noted that the staff might not be able to sign their contracts as was the norm whenever school re-opens.
In another letter by Carol Academy, the school notifies all teaching and non-teaching staff of unpaid leave.

Due to unforeseen circumstances caused by Covid-19 worldwide, the board of management of Carol Academy has decided to allow you to proceed on unpaid leave effective April 1, 2020 until further notice as directed by the national government, the letter read.

The board explained that with all schools closed it was difficult to generate income to run operations.

We regret this action but have no alternative as the school is no longer operational. We pray and hope that the situation will improve in the coming days when we shall inform you to resume work,» the letter stated.

Henry Ogada, the principal of Kings Academy, said the current situation posed a challenge in keeping staff on the payroll because private schools were no longer generating incomes.