Isiolo County Woman Representative Mumina Bonaya/HANDOUTIsiolo County Woman Representative Mumina Bonaya has come to the defense of Teachers Service Commission (TSC) following criticism from MPs who rejected the commission’s list of 25,252 teacher promotions made earlier this year.
Speaking out against what she described as politicisation of an independent institution, Bonaya expressed concern that lawmakers, particularly from the National Assembly's Education Committee, were undermining TSC’s efforts to carry out its mandate fairly and professionally.
“TSC is an independent commission that is mandated to run teachers' affairs professionally, without any bias or political interference,” Bonaya said. “However, the work by TSC seems to be annoying some politicians who want to politicize the independent work performed by the commission.”
Her comments follow a heated session where the Education Committee, after meeting with TSC CEO Nancy Macharia and Chairperson Jamleck Muturi, unanimously rejected the list of promoted teachers.
MPs argued the promotions were skewed and failed to adhere to the principles of equity, with claims that certain counties had benefited disproportionately.
But Bonaya strongly defended the commission’s promotion criteria, saying it had addressed longstanding issues in the education sector.
She noted that the promotions considered not only merit and seniority but also the unique challenges faced by educators in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL).
“They [TSC] also considered the fact that teachers in ASAL areas require motivation to be working in those areas despite the challenges or situations they serve in,” she said. “It is shocking that a group of people are annoyed by the equality displayed in the promotion and are questioning why the ASAL areas are getting the same as other parts of the country.”
Bonaya dismissed the committee's push to reverse the
promotions as “absurd and selfish,” accusing some MPs of attempting to
perpetuate marginalisation of regions like Isiolo and other ASAL counties.
“I find this absurd, selfish, and a tactic to continue marginalising part of this country,” she said. “It's also sad that the push to reverse the promotion is coming from the oversight committee of Parliament that is mandated to ensure there is equity and equality in how the education sector is run.”
She insisted that the TSC should be allowed to carry out its constitutional mandate without intimidation or undue influence, and questioned why MPs were unwilling to acknowledge the complex challenges that teachers in underserved regions face.
“Why is the committee not appreciating the systematic
challenges the ASALs are facing, which the TSC has tried to address in these
promotions?” she posed.
