National Assembly Education Committee chair Julius Melly has rejected claims that politicians are receiving Teachers Service Commission (TSC) employment letters to distribute or sell to jobseekers.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The Tinderet Member of Parliament explained that the recruitment process is governed by clear procedures, with Parliament allocating funds before the TSC advertises teacher vacancies and determines staffing needs by county and sub-county.

“It is unprocedural and doesn’t happen in the sense that there is a clear way of procuring and conducting the recruitment of teachers. In the House, we appropriate the money. After that, the TSC gets the money, puts out the advert, sets the requirements, and checks the numbers in each county and sub-county,” he noted.

The MP added, “There is no way you can go around issuing recruitment letters to teachers in the streets without proper recruitment procedures.”

📌 What You Need to Know

Melly’s response follows remarks by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, who said some MPs are given as many as 10 teachers’ employment letters for their constituents and alleged that some sell the opportunities.

Wetang’ula said he had encountered a case in which a parent was allegedly asked to pay Ksh400,000 to secure a teaching job for her child, describing the practice as immoral.

Melly challenged Wetang’ula’s account, saying he did not know where the Speaker obtained the information and that no such practice had come to his attention despite his role overseeing education matters in Parliament.

He said the committee would seek clarification from Wetang’ula on the circumstances surrounding the claims before deciding what action to take.

“As chair of the Education Committee, I’ll go and find out the details from him, get to know the circumstances under which he was making that statement, and then decide what course of action to take,” he said.

The allegations come amid scrutiny of political involvement in teacher recruitment, after President William Ruto pledged 50 teaching positions for members of the Akorino denomination in April.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke