Court bars TSC from reposting reinstated non-local teachers to North Eastern

The Teachers Service Commission has been dealt a blow after the Employment and Labour Relations Court on Friday barred it from re-posting non-local teachers it had interdicted to schools in North Eastern.

This comes after the teachers' employer reinstated non-local primary and secondary teachers it had interdicted months ago and ordered them to return to their schools from January 8, 2024.

There are a total of 3,227 non-local teachers working in the three North Eastern counties of Mandera, Wajir and Garissa, according to the TSC.

Read: Teacher exodus cripples learning in hardship areas

The teachers, who had been seeking transfers from Wajir, Mandera and Garissa counties since August, refused to return to their schools, citing security threats from al-Shabaab terrorists. In September, the TSC insisted it would not transfer the teachers and ordered them back.

But the teachers, through their Kenya Teachers in Hardship and Arid Areas Welfare Association, went to court, arguing that they should not be redeployed to their schools due to insecurity.

In his ruling, which was certified as urgent, Justice Bernard Odongo restrained the TSC and the Ministry of Education from taking any disciplinary action against the Kenya Teachers in Hardship and Arid Areas Welfare Association members since their grievances were under investigation.

Read: Life on the edge... one day at a time for interdicted teachers in Northern Kenya

"Pending the hearing and determination of the application inter-parties, an order is hereby issued prohibiting the 1st respondent from re-posting the teachers who are members of the applicant herein to North Eastern Kenya where they fled due to insecurity," said Justice Odongo.

The association's national secretary, Wangonya Wangenye, said they had moved to court to stop the TSC from redeploying them to the volatile region, which is prone to terror attacks.

Read also: Teachers demand to be guarded by KDF for fear of Al-Shabaab

"Teachers fled North Eastern Kenya due to insecurity and religious discrimination but were interdicted and subjected to disciplinary action by the TSC. The TSC later issued re-posting letters to our members asking them to return to their former counties in North Eastern," said Mr Wangenye.

He said the teachers went to court after their employer failed to address their grievances.