KNUT Condemns TSC Over Irregular Teacher Transfers Across Counties

NAIROBI — The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has strongly criticized the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for what it terms unauthorized and improper teacher transfers between counties, arguing the practice violates established educational guidelines.

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Speaking during a press conference, union representatives expressed concern that the commission’s actions contradict regulatory frameworks that encourage educators to work near their home areas to improve their quality of life and teaching effectiveness, except where compelling circumstances warrant otherwise.

Performance Impact Concerns

KNUT maintains that teachers stationed in their home counties demonstrate enhanced performance in executing their professional responsibilities. The union argues this correlation between proximity to home and job effectiveness should inform transfer decisions.

“Teachers should teach near their homes and in their counties. It is not possible that we are always getting teachers from other areas, and yet delocalisation has already been scrapped,” a union official stated during the briefing.

Call for Stakeholder Consultation

The teachers’ union emphasized that TSC must engage with educational stakeholders before implementing teacher transfers between institutions. Union officials characterized some recent transfers as lacking proper consultation and due process.

“The commission should talk with stakeholders first before making such transfers in our schools. TSC has the responsibility of transferring teachers, but they should not do it in a barbaric manner,” the official added.

Recurring Dispute

This marks another chapter in the ongoing disagreement between KNUT and TSC regarding teacher deployment strategies. In 2024, the union challenged the transfer of educators from Nairobi, warning that such movements could undermine the county’s educational standards.

The contested transfers were implemented under the teacher delocalisation policy, which mandates posting educators to schools outside their native regions. KNUT has characterized this approach as severe and lacking compassion, particularly for experienced teachers who have established roots in their current locations.

Examination Performance Fears

The union has raised concerns that relocating long-serving teachers could negatively affect student outcomes in national examinations. KNUT representatives noted that some educators have already received transfer notices, with some given as little as three months to relocate.

“Some have already received the delocalisation letters, and some have been left with three months. We knew the delocalisation of teachers was over, but it seems to have come back to Nairobi,” the union stated on September 3, 2025.

KNUT has called on TSC to withdraw all outstanding transfer letters, asserting that the government had previously discontinued the delocalisation policy. The union argues that reviving such transfers without proper justification undermines earlier policy commitments.

The Teachers Service Commission has not yet issued a public response to KNUT’s latest allegations regarding the teacher transfer process.

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