The Elgeyo Marakwet County Assembly Education Committee has given the County Public Service Board (CPSB) until August 17 to explain delays in the recruitment of 100 Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teachers and 40 Vocational Training Centre (VTC) instructors.
The committee said the county has set aside funds for the recruitment in the current financial year and expected the teachers and instructors to be in place by July 1, but the exercise had not started.
The committee chair, Christopher Cheboiboch, who is also the Emsoo Ward MCA, said the delay was unacceptable and could affect learning as schools prepare to reopen on August 26.
“We had a joint meeting with the board, the departments of education and finance, and all parties agreed that the recruitment would conclude by July 1 this year, but no hiring has taken place to date,” he said.
Cheboiboch said the Department of Education had fulfilled its responsibility by submitting the recruitment indent, while the Finance Department had formally confirmed that funds were available for the exercise.
He said the committee was therefore seeking an explanation from the CPSB for the failure to meet the agreed timelines.
The MCA stated that the committee had recently called officials from the Department of Education for an update on the recruitment, but they did not turn up.
He expressed concern that continued delays could worsen the existing shortage of teachers in ECDE centres across the county.
Cheboiboch cited his Emsoo Ward, where he said three ECDE centres were operating without teachers, and warned that staffing shortages could disrupt learning and compromise the quality of early childhood education.
The committee clerk has already dispatched an official letter to the CPSB demanding immediate action and a comprehensive progress report by Monday.
The report is expected to explain the reasons behind the delay and outline measures being taken to complete the recruitment exercise.
Cheboiboch said the county government had a responsibility to ensure that children receive essential services and that available funds are used to address pressing staffing needs.
“The children of Elgeyo Marakwet deserve urgent service delivery, and these jobs must be filled immediately,” he said.
The standoff comes amid concerns over working conditions among ECDE teachers in the county. Local ECDE teachers have previously staged demonstrations and marched to the governor’s office in Iten to protest unstable employment contracts and demand conversion to permanent and pensionable terms.
The committee said addressing staffing shortages remained critical to strengthening early childhood education, which forms the foundation of the education system.
The county has introduced several ECDE centres, including free early childhood education and digital learning programmes. But staffing imbalances remain an issue in some parts of the county.
