Good news as TSC set to hire 10,000 teachers in bid to end shortage

Teachers Service Commission Secretary Gabriel Lengoiboni.

Nairobi, Kenya: The Teachers Service Commission is recruiting 10,300 teachers in both primary and secondary schools to bridge a biting shortage.

Communication from the teachers’ employer says 5,000 new teachers will be employed at the end of the recruitment exercise that starts Wednesday, July 31 and ends on August 11, 2014. Of these, some 2,479 new primary school teachers and another 2,521 additional secondary school teachers will be recruited. In addition 4,663 and 676 teachers in primary and secondary schools respectively will be hired to replace those who quit.

The Government set aside Sh2.3 billion in the budget to cater for the exercise in this financial year (2014/2015). Communication signed by TSC Secretary Gabriel Lengoiboni said another 5,339 teachers would be recruited to replace those who have exited service due to natural attrition (retirement, resignation and death).

Lengoiboni said the replacements would cover the period up to September 1 this year, and that the current teacher shortage is a shocking 90,000. Teachers unions demanded additional funds to recruit half the number required.

"Applicants for this posts in primary schools must be holders of P1 certificates. Interested candidates should apply to the TSC County Director, in the county where the vacancy has been advertised..." reads the communication. All applicants must submit their documents to TSC county directors no later than August 11.

But Lengoiboni said teachers who applied earlier would have to re-apply, adding that a new merit list for this financial year will be generated. Those applying for secondary school positions must be holders of diploma certificates in education and added that all applications must be sent to secretaries of Boards of Management (BoM) of schools with vacancies.

"TSC will only deal with TSC county selection panels and BoM's in this exercise. No individual applicant to the commission will be consider," reads the communication.

Recruitment guidelines for the teachers strongly warns that under no circumstances should the employment form provided be defaced or photocopied.

"Any candidate who is dissatisfied with the exercise should complain immediately to the County Director in writing and send a copy to the TSC headquarters not later than seven days after the selection exercise," reads the guidelines seen by The Standard.

The guidelines also indicate that candidates will be awarded marks based on academic or professional certificate and length of stay since qualifying as a teacher.

Another set of recruitment guidelines for primary teachers indicates that applicants will be assessed based on professional or academic certificates, the score obtained as per the panels score sheet and age of the applicant.

The document reveals that candidates whose length of stay starts in 2002 and before will score 40 points. Those whose stay since graduation starts in 2003 will score 37 points. The list runs down to 2013 candidates who will score seven points.

This means that older candidates will stand a higher chance than those who just graduated. These guidelines were presented to the Sabina Chege-led House Education Committee last week. MPs and members of the committee said TSC should work on a plan to recruit both old and young, even as they admitted that those who have stayed out long should be given priority.

County governors and MPs have been locked out of the recruitment exercise, as they will not be represented at any recruitment panel.

Lengoiboni told the House Education committee last week that the move aims at "depoliticising the teacher hiring process".

In the recruitment list published in The Standard today, Kakamega County has been allocated the most slots of 127, for primary teachers. Kitui has 116 as Narok has 107 and Migori 103 slots. Homa Bay County is allocated 107 slots closing the list of top five counties with highest allocations.

Kisii, Kirinyaga, Murang'a, Kiambu and Nyeri Counties have the least allocations of 20 slots. However, all the counties have been allocated teachers not less than 20. Some Members of Parliament had proposed that every constituency be allocated 15 teachers.

"The balance should then be left for the TSC to hire based on other criteria such as affirmative action and based on the most understaffed regions," said Mogotio MP Hellen Sambili. TSC, however, said that some are already over staffed.