This might sound like a serious and sick joke in other countries, but not in Kenya. In the recent massive promotion of teachers, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has been accused of promoting at least 100 dead teachers and upscaling their salaries.
According to the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), its records found at least 100 dead teachers on the promotion list while others were either retired or left the service, raising questions about whether someone has been earning on their half.
Through their Secretary-General, Akelo Misori, KUPPET has accused TSC of keeping the names of teachers who had been promoted a secret. He says this has raised serious transparency issues about TSC saying the hiding of the identities is suspicious and in bad faith.
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“Our analysis proves that the commission promoted several teachers who were not on its roll, including those who were dead or had resigned from service,” Misori claimed in a recent media briefing. ““The TSC deceptively included dozens of Curriculum Support Officers and other secretariat staff at the expense of deserving teachers,” he added.
KUPPET Chairman Omboko Milemba also had something to say: “It beats logic that a teacher who is 57-years-old, has stagnated all along and is set for retirement in three years and somebody who was employed two years ago appears on the promotion list. Among these are 1,000 senior teachers who have not earned promotion for 15 years.”
In March, Teachers Service Commission said that it had promoted 36,505 teachers to higher grades, in line with Career Progression Guidelines (CPG).
The teachers were said to have been promoted following interviews that were completed in January, a majority of whom had stagnated in the same job group for years.
TSC Secretary Nancy Macharia said that the commission has been allocated Sh 1 Billion in the 2024/25 Financial Year to promote teachers. Some 14,750 teachers were also elevated in the 2022/23 Financial Year.
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