Standoff over planned transfer of Isiolo Boys High School principal
Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo.
What you need to know:
- Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo blames a commissioner at the TSC for engineering the changes.
- Mr James Gituma was confirmed as Isiolo Boys’ head teacher ago after serving as Deputy Principal.
Parents, board of management and local political leaders have threatened to petition Parliament over the planned transfer of the Isiolo Boys High School principal by the Teachers Service Commission.
Led by Governor Abdi Guyo, the agitated parents have opposed the planned transfer of Mr James Gituma, whom they said has pulled the school out of the academic dismal performance, to post good results.
“As leaders and parents in Isiolo, we don’t want to gamble with our children's future. We will not allow a non-performer to be brought to the school,” Mr Guyo said.
According to the governor, Mr Gituma has overseen a tremendous improvement in the school’s performance in recent years.
The school's performance, he said, has improved from a mean score of 3.6 three years ago to 5.4 last year.
“We will not allow TSC to bring us a head teacher who has been sent away from other schools because of poor performance. We will not allow that to happen,” the governor said.
The leaders blamed a commissioner at the TSC for engineering the changes, ostensibly to install a principal from his ethnic community.
Governor Guyo said they will petition the National Assembly to remove the said commissioner if the commission does not reverse its decision to transfer the principal.
“We will petition the National Assembly. We will not allow them to mess up with our children. We are in the middle of the term and national exams are four months away. What are they up to?” he posed.
Attempts by the Nation to reach TSC chairman Jamleck Muturi and CEO Nancy Machaira for a comment on the matter were futile.
The school’s BoM chairman Mohammed Boru and his Parents and Teachers Association counterpart also vehemently opposed the planned transfer of the principal when the school's performance was on an upward trajectory.
"Sadly, TSC has issued him with two transfers in two months, when he is keen on helping the school reclaim its lost glory," Mohammed said, adding that the mean grade had risen to 5.2 from 3.6 three years ago.
Mr Gituma was confirmed as Isiolo Boys’ head teacher months ago after serving as the Deputy Principal for seven years.
Before his confirmation, TSC had deployed a principal to take over the school leadership but was forced to rescind the decision on request by the board and some leaders who demanded that Mr Gituma be promoted.
He had served for more than a year in an acting capacity, following the departure of immediate former principal Abdi Diba who he deputised, before his confirmation.
Area MCA Salesio Kiambi said there was no valid reason to transfer the teacher months after his promotion as the principal.
"We are not ready to compromise the performance of the school. We are not against the transfer but we must be convinced that whoever is taking over is sober and not someone who is a poor performer," he said.
Isiolo Boys High School, once an academic giant, suffered dwindling performance for several years.
Radicalisation, drug and substance abuse among the students, indiscipline cases, and politicking have negatively impacted the school.
Former Isiolo Governor Mohammed Kuti, Petroleum Principal Secretary Mohammed Liban, and Isiolo North MP Joseph Samal are among the known alumni of the school.
