ASAL Teachers Warns TSC Over Plan to Remove 1,864 Teachers from Promotion Lists

The Teachers in Hardship and Arid Areas Welfare Association (KETHAWA) has declared war on the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) over plans to remove 1,864 teachers from promotion lists and redistribute the positions to non-hardship counties.

KETHAWA National Secretary Wangonya Wangenye announced the association is prepared for a “bruising battle” through legal channels or other means if TSC proceeds with what he termed an “inhuman decision” targeting nine hardship counties.

TSC intends to strike teachers from promotion lists released last month across Samburu, Mandera, Garissa, Wajir, Lamu, Isiolo, Tana River, Turkana, and Marsabit counties. These positions would be redistributed to counties not classified as hardship areas.

Wangenye rejected the plan outright, demanding TSC seek additional funding instead of reallocating existing promotions. “We have been fighting for affirmative action on promotion of teachers in hardship and arid areas and what the commission has given to us is just a drop in the ocean which we shall jealously protect,” he stated.

The association frames the dispute as a constitutional rights issue, arguing teachers in hardship areas have faced decades of systematic discrimination. “What’s genuinely theirs no one can take away under our watch,” Wangenye declared, promising heightened vigilance against what he called an affront to teachers’ constitutional rights.

The confrontation highlights ongoing inequities in Kenya’s education sector, particularly challenges in staffing remote schools. The dispute could impact teacher deployment strategies and raise questions about resource allocation in the country’s most underserved regions.

TSC has not responded to KETHAWA’s opposition or provided justification for the proposed changes.