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{
    "id": 106189,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/106189/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 220,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Prof. Ongeri",
    "speaker_title": "The Minister for Education",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 124,
        "legal_name": "Samson Kegeo Ongeri",
        "slug": "samson-ongeri"
    },
    "content": "18 Thursday, 8th April, 2010(P) to thank the hon. Member for Yatta who confided in me about the kind of staffing which was totally skewed towards favouring some applicants. This afternoon, I have taken corrective measures. Similarly, in other areas where I found out that there is one line of people from top to bottom, obviously justification cannot be carried out. This is why I have asked the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and they have agreed that they are going to look at that list afresh. They will now look at all the applicants who applied from that constituency. They will look at the local people by using the identity cards because this is the only way you can know that, that person emanates from that constituency. Then, accordingly, they will be able to be considered on that basis of merit. So, you need not worry about the first list that came in. Dr. Kones asked whether this is going to be the usual feature, yes, as long as we have not got substantive posts in the Treasury, we will use this process in as long as it serves us well minus all these irregularities that we are now correcting. Hon. Rege was actually addressing an issue related to the acute shortage of teachers and I believe that is what was bothering hon. Musila, and many other Members of Parliament here. Let me say it again, for clarity purposes, that this is a replacement of teachers either who are leaving the service, who have retired or who have died through natural attrition. The figure is only 2,740. The shortage of teachers in this country is 65,000. We have a shortage of 23,000 teachers in secondary schools and 43,000 in primary schools respectively. We have used a threshold, which is any district with a shortage of more than 200 teachers and I want to give the Members of Parliament the sense of that scatter. The minimal threshold is 200 to 700 and once we get the normal establishment of teachers, we will be able to employ through the normal channels. We shall definitely address that acute shortage. I am aware, for instance, that in some schools, we only have one teacher from the TSC, who is also the headteacher. There are no other teachers. I have no way of getting those teachers until I have that factored in the Budget. It was factored in the Budget and all of us were party to it, we passed the Economic Stimulus Package to employ 12,500 teachers. However, the teachers have gone to court and my hands are tied up until that matter is sorted out. We have lost out on 12,500 teachers who should have been on board to address some of the concerns which are being raised by hon. Members. So there is nothing fishy that we are doing."
}