The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has transferred teachers from a Secondary School that was stormed by angry parents on Monday in Mumias East, Kakamega county.
Angry parents stormed St Gabriel Isong0 Secondary School on Monday January 15, to protest and eject the principal from his office over alleged poor results of the 2023 KCSE examination.
In a new twist, TSC has since transferred 17 teachers to other stations following the incident.
Kakamega County Director of Education (CDE) Hellen Nyang’au on January 18, 2024, confirmed that all teachers employed by the commission have been transferred.
The administrator added that the commission is currently working with the Ministry of Education following the transfer as the school’s Board of Management (BOM) takes over.
“Teachers employed on BoM terms can continue with teaching as the case continues. We are currently seeking advice from the Ministry to know the way forward,” said Ms Nyang’au.
On the other hand, Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Kakamega Executive Secretary Harrison Otota noted that there will be a board meeting at the institution.
The meeting was to be followed by a stakeholders’ meeting chaired by the Deputy County Commissioner.
“The teachers have been transferred to other stations because parents don’t want them. We had agreed that we are going to have a stakeholders’ meeting today with the DCC to discuss the way forward.”
Also Read: Machogu Addresses Cases of Parents Storming Schools Over Results
He further added that deployment of other TSC teachers will be discussed during the stakeholders’ meeting.
According to Otota, the community will be tasked with the decision to sit and decide how the school should run.
TSC takes action after storm
The transfer comes after the area MP Peter Salasya led furious parents as they stormed the institution.
During the drama, the angry mob accused the principal of failing to uplift the school’s academic standards.
Furthermore, they accused him of letting down the learners and community, attributing the school’s poor results to lack of commitment.
Also Read: More Drama as Salasya Leads Parents in Chasing Principal Away
At the time, parents and students breached the security and went straight to the principal’s office before frog-marching him out of the school’s compound.
“The school’s mean score when this principal came was 5 but he has since taken it down to 2.
This is a prestigious school but he’s failing it,” said a parent at the scene.
The transfer of the teachers came after KUPPE, Kakamega branch held demonstrations condemning the ejection of the principal.
Ministry warning
Also, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu warned against the invasion of schools by parents and members of the public to harass teachers.
This was after parents stormed several learning institutions over claims of poor performance in the 2023 KCSE.
Through a statement on January 15, 2024, Machogu noted that the Ministry of Education was concerned about the invasion and harassment trend.
“A few cases of teacher harassment over claims of poor candidates’ performance have been witnessed in some schools since results of the 2023 KCSE Examination were released on Monday, January 8th ,2024,” read the statement in part.
Machogu went on to threaten police action, affirming that any other invasions to learning institutions would be treated as acts of crime.
“Going forward, the Ministry of Education will treat any invasion to schools to frog-march teachers out of their workstations as acts of crime that will prompt firm and decisive action from law enforcers,” added Machogu.