Tinderet MP Julius Melly has dismissed claims that politicians are being given Teachers Service Commission (TSC) employment letters to distribute or sell to jobseekers.
Melly, who chairs the National Assembly Education Committee, said teacher recruitment follows a set process and that employment letters cannot simply be handed out by politicians.
His remarks came after National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula claimed that some MPs receive teacher employment letters for people in their constituencies.
Wetang’ula further alleged that some of the letters are sold to jobseekers, saying he had come across a case where a parent was allegedly asked to pay Ksh400,000 to secure a teaching job for her child.
The Speaker described the practice as immoral and called for it to be addressed.
Melly, however, said the claims had not come to his attention despite his position in Parliament’s Education Committee.
He said there was a clear process that TSC follows before recruiting teachers.
According to Melly, Parliament first approves funding for teacher recruitment before TSC advertises available positions and assesses staffing needs in different counties and sub-counties.
“It is unprocedural and doesn’t happen in the sense that there is a clear way of procuring and conducting the recruitment of teachers,” Melly said.
He added that vacancies are advertised and applicants have to meet the requirements set by the commission.
“There is no way you can go around issuing recruitment letters to teachers in the streets without proper recruitment procedures,” he said.
Melly said he would seek more information from Wetang’ula to establish where the claims came from and whether there was evidence to support them.
“As chair of the Education Committee, I’ll go and find out the details from him, get to know the circumstances under which he was making that statement, and then decide what course of action to take,” he said.
The controversy comes at a time when the role of politicians in teacher recruitment and deployment has come under increased scrutiny.
In April, President William Ruto pledged 50 teaching positions for members of the Akorino denomination, raising questions over political influence in teacher recruitment.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) also raised concerns in July over alleged political interference in teacher transfers in Lurambi, Kakamega County.
TSC has previously warned politicians and other groups against interfering with the deployment of teachers, saying the responsibility falls under the commission.
Melly said the Education Committee would rely on actual complaints and evidence from teachers and jobseekers before taking any action on the latest claims.
For now, the alleged Ksh400,000 payment remains an allegation, with Melly saying more details are needed to establish what happened and who, if anyone, was involved.