‘I’ll Be A Witness’ – Sossion Vows To Help DCI and EACC In TSC’s Corruption Probe
Former Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Wilson Sossion believes that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) should be investigated for alleged corruption.
Speaking on local TV, Sossion claimed that during his time at the union, he witnessed widespread corruption, including teachers offering bribes to get hired.
Sossion questioned why new teachers are constantly hired while no advertisements are published.
The former KNUT Secretary General stated that the positions are obtained through graft, as applicants collude with government officials.
Wilson Sossion: There's a grave situation at the TSC because of corruption. A thorough forensic audit by the DCI and EACC is necessary. This may require removing the CEO and its commissioners in order to ensure the delivery of quality education #CitizenDayBreak @SamGituku pic.twitter.com/NGirJEyr6I
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) September 2, 2024
“For you to be employed as a P1 teacher you must pay Ksh.350,000 and some of these employment letters are sold through government officers. To be employed as a graduate is Ksh.500,000 and to be promoted is Ksh.150,000,” he said.
“I’m willing to be a witness in all these forensic processes as an insider who has worked in this space.
“I am ready to defend it in a court of law or anywhere because this is a very serious matter. We are talking about the destruction of the lives of the children of this country.”
Sossion therefore called on the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), and the Auditor General to expeditiously investigate the allegations.
“The situation at TSC is a situation where angels would weep because of the magnitude of corruption. This may necessitate sending the commissioners and the CEO home,” he said.
He even suggested that the three institutions focus on four key areas.
They include the financial system and transactions, particularly third-party remittances, how teachers have been hired in the last five years, how teachers have been promoted in the last five years, and an investigation into unconstitutional policies at TSC.
Sossion cited deeply ingrained corruption in the education sector as the primary debacle undermining the nation’s educational quality.
This comes amid a nationwide teacher strike, in which teachers have pledged to lay off until the government responds to their demands.
Some of these demands included the permanent hiring of 46,000 Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers and the promotion of 130,000 teachers.
Teachers also demand the immediate implementation of the second phase of the 2021/2025 amended CBA signed by TSC and KNUT, as well as the immediate remittance of third-party deductions owed to their respective organisations.
KNUT stated that after discussions with TSC, the teachers’ employer announced that it had promoted 51,232 teachers, remitted the third-party deductions, and was in the process of implementing the amended CBA.
Meanwhile, teachers from the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) have stood firm.
They’ve taken to the streets to protest for better health care, promotions, and the confirmation of Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers as permanent and pensionable, among other things.
Oyuu stated that 90% of the KUPPET teachers’ demands had been met, emphasizing that the JSS teachers would be confirmed as permanent employees in a few months.
‘I’ll Be A Witness’ – Sossion Vows To Help DCI and EACC In TSC’s Corruption Probe
