President William Ruto’s senior economic adviser, Moses Kuria, is furious at what he calls the growing habit of politicians brandishing teachers’ employment letters at funerals and campaign stops.
“There are several great ideas on how best to destroy a nation,” Kuria said in a statement on Tuesday. “But the most glittering of recent times is politicians parading teachers’ employment forms in public rallies and funerals… We have sunk this low, sadly.”
Kuria’s outburst arrived just two days after the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) sounded the alarm over “political meddling” in the Teachers Service Commission’s (TSC) hiring process. KNUT Secretary‑General Collins Oyuu said deserving, long‑serving tutors are being elbowed aside.
“Never in the history of the Teachers Service Commission have we seen what is happening now,” Oyuu told reporters. “The manner in which employment forms are being distributed by some politicians leaves much to be desired.”
Union’s main grievance
Oyuu argued that age and year of graduation should matter: experienced teachers who finished college in 2010, and even some now in their fifties, still wait for a payslip, while fresh 2023 graduates secure permanent posts.
The union boss urged Ruto to ensure his signature teacher‑recruitment drive is “fair and humane.”
TSC pushes back
TSC chief executive Nancy Macharia has dismissed reports of politicians hand‑delivering appointment letters as “media speculation,” insisting the commission “lives by the principles of recruitment.” Her insistence did little to calm MPs on the House Committee on Constitutional Implementation, who told her they had witnessed Cabinet secretaries brandishing employment letters at public events.
Kenya still faces a deficit of more than 72,000 teachers, even after hiring 76,928 instructors in the past two years.
Ruto’s administration has pledged to bring 120,000 more educators on board by 2028, but more than 350,000 trained teachers remain jobless and anxiously watch every recruitment round.
Runyenjes MP Eric Karemba told Macharia that letting “prominent people” hand out appointment letters “sets a bad precedent” and erodes public trust.
The committee wants the practice stopped before the next hiring phase begins.
What happens next?
- TSC audit: Lawmakers are pushing for an immediate review of the current recruitment to verify that letters issued publicly match the official register.
- Revised guidelines: KNUT wants clear rules that tie recruitment scores to both graduation year and applicant age, reducing the temptation for politicians to cherry‑pick names.
- Public reporting: Civil‑society groups are calling for the commission to publish real‑time shortlists and final appointment lists online.
For thousands of unemployed teachers, the outcome will decide whether merit – or political patronage – guides the next round of hiring. Until then, Kuria’s warning echoes: politicising classrooms may offer short‑term applause, but it risks long‑term damage to Kenya’s schools.
