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{
    "id": 950126,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/950126/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 17,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Turkana North, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Christopher Nakuleu",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2937,
        "legal_name": "Chrisropher Doye Nakuleu",
        "slug": "chrisropher-doye-nakuleu"
    },
    "content": "THAT, the county is classified as arid and semi-arid land (ASAL) and it is among the poorest counties in Kenya with approximately 90 per cent of the population living below a dollar a day. THAT, the county has high illiteracy levels which stands at 82 per cent, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation(UNESCO). THAT, the teacher to student ratio in public schools within the County is about 1 to 100, which is lower than the recommended Ministry of Education ratio of 1 to 45. THAT, a majority of teachers in Turkana County are non-locals, whose families reside outside the county. THAT, following the conclusion of the required five years that the Teachers Service Commission and the Ministry of Education stipulate for a teacher to serve in a particular station, most non-local teachers normally apply for transfers to their home counties. THAT, on account of this trend, the county has ended up simply serving as a temporary station that teachers use to secure employment, after which they depart to greener pastures in other counties thereby causing serious staffing challenges in Turkana County. THAT, the situation is further aggravated by the harsh conditions and typical hardships prevailing in the area, which the non-locals find extremely different to adapt to. THAT, the TSC has in the recent past carried out recruitment of teachers in Turkana County without cognisance of the actual realities on the ground, local interests and affirmative action stipulated in the Constitution. THAT, TSC does not recognise Turkana as a marginalised county and thus makes inaccurate, misleading and regressive assumptions that the county education status and requirements are similar to those of other counties. THAT, a report by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) revealed that members of Turkana County constitute less than 1 per cent of the public service, with the Commission recommending equitable representation of Kenyan communities in the public service. THAT, a substantial proportion of teachers hailing from Turkana County, who complete education is not able to compete with their peers from other counties who complete the training earlier than them. This is oddly enough a criterion that TSC adopted to the detriment of local teachers and which leads to acute and perpetual teacher shortage in the county. THAT, efforts by teachers in Turkana County to have this critical issue addressed have been futile, and THAT, issues in respect of which this Petition is made are not pending before any court of law or any other constitutional or legal body. Therefore, your humble Petitioners pray that the National Assembly, through the Departmental Committee on Education and Research— (i) inquire into TSC’s staffing policy in Turkana County, with a view of proposing affirmative action in the recruitment of teachers in Turkana, giving the local residents priority in the recruitment. (ii) engage TSC with a view of recommending compliance by TSC to the conventional ratio of 70 to 30 per cent teacher recruitment ratio for locals vis-à-vis non-locals. (iii) cause TSC to issue a special waiver to enable recruitment of graduates from Turkana County into the TSC fraternity irrespective of the year of graduation. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}