The Teacher Service Commission has agreed to transfer non-local teachers away from parts of Northeastern Kenya (see P27). Non-local teachers refused to work there after the targeted killing of three teachers in Garissa by a Shabaab in mid-January.
This will hurt the local community because there are not enough local teachers to replace the non-locals. Some local people probably collaborated with the attackers so it can be argued that the community brought this crisis on themselves.
But it remains government's responsibility t0 provide proper services to all citizens, wherever they are in Kenya. Moreover, al Shabaab's intention is to halt 'western' education in Northeastern Kenya. Letting education services deteriorate would be a victory for al Shabaab.
Government needs to increase security in the Northeast to protect all schools.
But the state can also copy the late President Moi. There was a shortage of teachers in Baringo in the early 1980s so he set up a teacher training college there. Now there is a surplus of local teachers.
So let's set up a TTC specifically for Garissa and the Northeast and allow entry with lower grades than other parts of the country.
Quote of the day: "Governments tend not to solve problems, only to rearrange them."
Ronald Reagan
The actor and American president was born on February 6, 1911.