Plans To Transfer Teachers From TSC To PSC Quashed. It is unlawful, according to the Labour and Industrial Relations Court, for teachers to be transferred from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to the Public Service Commission (PSC).
Two tutors who were interdicted for refusing to transfer from TSC, Evans Morara Nyangongo and Charles Moraro Mogunde, have had their salaries reinstated by the court.
Asserting the transfer’s unconstitutionality, Kisumu’s Justice Christine Baari followed an earlier court ruling that struck down a government circular approving similar transfers.
Judge Baari made reference to the controversial Circular No. 17/2018, which was first ruled unconstitutional by the Labour Court in Nairobi through Petition Number 97 of 2018.
“On whether the rights of the two teachers were violated, it goes without saying that the circular under which the two teachers were transferred having been declared unconstitutional. Any action emanating from there cannot be said to be lawful, as nothing legal comes out of an illegality,” the judge said.
By the circular, TSC instructed the Ministry of Education under the PSC to take over the positions of lecturers, teachers, instructors, trainers, and institutional managers that were under its payroll as of June 30, 2018, with effect from August 1.
Judge Baari has mandated that the two instructors return to work immediately and that the government agencies they filed the lawsuit against pay the case’s expenses.
Plans To Transfer Teachers From TSC To PSC Quashed
She has, however, turned down the teachers’ plea for special damages since they were unable to provide proof that they were fired.
The teachers contended that, having been hired between 1998 and 2009, they were TSC employees.
Nyangongo stated that he taught Biology and Agriculture at various secondary schools and served in different capacities, while Mogunde taught Chemistry and Physics before being transferred to Mawe Technical Training Institute.
The affected filed lawsuits against a number of government agencies, including the Attorney General, PSC, TSC, Education Cabinet Secretary, and Principal Secretary. They asked for damages for constitutional rights violated and for rulings that their transfer was unlawful and unconstitutional.
They claimed that their transfer without their consent changed their work descriptions and denied them benefits as TSC employees, infringing on their rights under the Constitution and employment regulations.
The teachers said that the forced transfer had caused them emotional pain, agony, and abuses of their dignity.
The respondents responded by supporting the move, claiming it was legal and essential to the smooth operation of technical and vocational schools.
Plans To Transfer Teachers From TSC To PSC Quashed
They insisted that the PSC and the Ministry of Education had appropriately overseen the two teachers’ employment, and that their rights had not been violated by the suspension of their pay.