The Teachers Service Commission has shot down claims of being in a state of financial crisis after a viral message threatened to plunge the commission into a financial catastrophe.
In a statement issued on Monday, TSC stated that information floating on social media concerning a ‘financial meltdown’ and KSh7.9 billion budget deficit is misleading.
The viral message, which spread like wildfire on WhatsApp and other platforms, alleged that the teachers’ body is experiencing difficulties in paying salaries to the teaching fraternity.
However, within hours of the news spreading, the teachers’ commission rejected assertions and called for calmness amid all the noise.
“Please be advised that the information circulating regarding a KSh7.9 billion financial meltdown at the Teachers Service Commission is false,” the commission said.
Even so, an audit report released earlier had pointed to financial pressure at the commission.
According to the report, which was prepared by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, the commission had a budget deficit of close to KSh4.3 billion, thus a total deficit of over KSh7 billion.
It also indicated that the teachers’ body had more liabilities than assets, totaling up to KSh7.9 billion.
The audit also drew attention to overspending, as TSC exceeded its budget allocation by over KSh4 billion.
Outstanding bills were pointed out, too, with the commission being owed KSh12.3 billion among others.
Notwithstanding this, TSC has maintained that it is not under threat and operations are running as usual.
The commission has now called upon the public, particularly the teaching community, to depend only on information from authoritative sources.
