Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki now wants the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to shorten services of non-local teachers in North-Eastern counties because of insecurity.
Speaking during a parliamentary education committee on Wednesday, Kithure made the recommendation on the grounds that insecurity in North-Eastern is affecting the mental health of the non-local teachers.
“We recommend to TSC to shorten the service of non-local teachers in the northern region due to their mental health,” Kindiki said.
In informing the committee that there is a serious security threat in those counties, the CS said that the locals, at some level, contribute to issues of insecurity among the non-local teachers through incitement.
“We are facing a number of threats in the Northern region. We have intelligence that the terror groups have increased for reasons beyond us,” he said.
“There is a bit of incitement from the local communities against non-local teachers so some of the threats are coming from the local communities themselves and we must therefore look towards engaging the local communities to accept the reality that they don’t have enough teachers.”
Kindiki further recommended that the teachers be pooled in one area temporarily to protect them from Al-Shabaab attacks and also suggested a future plan to introduce community-led initiatives in the plan to fight Al-Shabaab just as Somalia did.
“Pooling on teachers in one station for their protection is the short-term solution and the long-term solution is to ensure the area is safe just like the rest of Kenya. Have already made my commitment that we will clean up that place and those threats will not be there going forward,” Kindiki spoke.
“The solution to the problem in the North is to do what has been done in Somalia, the fight against Al-Shabaab in Somalia is being led by communities with the support of the government, and I think for that’s where are headed and already we are getting positive feedback,” he added.
The CS further revealed that most non-local teachers are attacked while travelling hence he recommended air transport of the teachers and the use of virtual learning to reduce the attacks.
“The education authority may consider perhaps flight tickets for teachers because most of the attacks happen when teachers are travelling by road and then invest in technology where virtual learning really can reduce the need for physical movement of teachers from one place to another,” he said.
Kindiki said that the teachers will be moved to safer place considering that insecurity threats in those areas have intensified.
“We are moving the local teachers to safer ground due to intensified terror attacks. All teachers will be evacuated to safer central place and they will be escorted to and from work,” he said.
“We are facing a number of threats in Kenya. Just yesterday there was an attack in Lamu. Presences of terror elements have increased in Lamu; all teachers will be evacuated & pulled at safe points & escorted: Garissa, Southern Wajir & Mandera. These are non local teachers,” Kindiki added.