Teachers are pushing back against ongoing transfers under the Teachers Service Commission’s (TSC) delocalisation policy, saying the exercise is uprooting long-serving educators from their home counties.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

Speaking during an annual meeting of primary and secondary school educators on Monday, June 29, teachers from Nairobi, Kiambu and Machakos counties decried the disruption of family stability and job satisfaction caused by recent transfers.

The teachers said appeals submitted to the TSC committee handling transfer cases have largely gone unheard, with some educators being moved to far regions despite decades of service at their current schools.

“We have seen the issue of teachers being transferred under the delocalisation policy, which has negatively affected the teachers. Teachers are going before the committee to appeal but we are not being listened to,” a teacher stated.

📌 What You Need to Know

Educators say the current transfer exercise has intensified concerns over welfare, workload and separation from families.

The delocalisation policy requires teachers to be deployed outside their counties of origin in an effort to promote equitable staffing and reduce conflict of interest in school administration.

In April, the TSC began a nationwide mass transfer exercise ahead of the second term reopening, saying it was aimed at addressing long-standing staffing imbalances where urban and easily accessible schools remain overstaffed while remote and hardship areas face acute shortages affecting learning outcomes.

Previously, the government entered into a Collective Bargaining Agreement with teachers’ unions to abolish the policy after widespread complaints.

However, in 2025, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Nairobi accused the TSC of reintroducing the delocalisation policy through the back door.

While many teachers are opposing mandatory transfers, the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) disclosed on June 17 that hundreds of educators have applied for transfers from areas they consider unsafe amid rising political violence ahead of the 2027 General Election.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke