IEBC commissioner Paul Kurgat inspecting voter registration kits in Eldoret in March 2017. [PHOTO/the-star.co.ke]
The Teaches Service Commission (TSC) has distanced itself from a letter doing rounds on social media purporting that it (commission) has barred all teachers from serving as August 8 poll officials.
According to TSC Communications head Kihumba Kamotho, any teacher is free to take the appointments.
"Ignore the fake circular purporting to bar teachers from taking up the jobs. The position is as per circular 16/2017 which acknowledged their role."
The commission wrote to county and sub-county directors asking them to advise their teachers to accept the jobs.
The dismissed letter cited the Code of Regulations for Teachers and claimed that teachers were barred from taking the roles.
"Henceforth, any teacher who is found working in the above mentioned position risks disciplinary action," it read.
IEBC commenced interviews for all presiding officers and their deputies on Monday.
A good number of teachers, who usually man polling stations in the general elections, submitted their applications and were shortlisted for interviews.