The Teachers Service Commission has said it was forced to hire teachers on contract to beat an acute shortage in four counties following mass exodus of non-local tutors.
In a statement to the Senate, TSC said it hired the teachers in Lamu, Wajir, Garissa and Mandera counties after incessant al Shabab attacks.
“In 2020, the commission introduced engagement of teachers on fixed terms in a bid to address the shortage,” it said.
TSC said the contracts are renewable after every three years.
The commission is mandated by law to hire tutors on permanent and pensionable terms.
“Notably, teachers recruited under this arrangement are offered three-year contracts renewable until they turn 65,” the commission said.
Currently, there are 376 teachers employed on contract.
"Apart from the 376, the commission has not employed any other teacher on a fixed-term contract for more than 10 years," TSC said.
Data from the Ministry of Education says 32 teachers have been killed by al Shabaab in Northeastern in the past five years.
In 2014, 22 teachers returning home for Christmas, were among 28 killed in a bus attack in Mandera.
Knut says Mandera county currently needs more than 2,000 teachers to fill the gaps in 300 public primary and 550 public secondary schools.
In January 2020, the region faced another crisis after TSC made more transfers after three teachers were killed by al-Shabaab.
Out of almost 4,000 primary and secondary school teachers, at least 2,340 demanded transfers.
So far, 836 teachers have transfered from Garissa, 287 from Wajir and 964 from Mandera, leaving only about 600 non-local teachers in the region.
Code of Regulation for Teachers says the commission may employ a teacher on contractual terms if the teacher is retired and eligible for re-employment.
The code says TSC can hire on contract a person eligible for appointment as the commission may deem fit.
In October 2018, two teachers were killed when al-Shabaab militants attacked Arabia Boys Secondary School in Mandera county.
The attack in Wajir resulted in the temporary closure of 250 out of 266 primary and secondary schools in the county.
Apart from the Al-Shabab threat, some teachers said they were harassed and beaten by students and sometimes referred to in derogatory terms.
