TSC compiling list of unemployed teachers

Teachers Service Commission headquarters. [File Courtesy]

The  Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has said it is in the process of updating existing data for registered teachers not currently employed by the Commission.

In a notice, the TSC explained that the exercise is purely for effective teacher workforce planning as well as establishing the demand and supply of qualified teachers and subsequently form teacher recruitment and related policies.

“The updated data will be processed and stored in accordance with the Provisions of the Data Protection Act and the Privacy Notice of the Commission. Teachers targeted for submission of this information should provide their details online by March 16,” TSC said.

TSC appeared before the Departmental Committee on Education last month and submitted that in Financial Year 2026/2027, the Commission's budget estimate is proposed at Sh423 billion.

The Commission said its key activities earmarked for the period include recruitment of 16,000 additional teachers for Junior School and Senior Schools at a cost of Sh1.9 billion to address the current teacher shortage.

TSC said it is seeking to promote teachers at different levels in both Primary and Secondary Schools and Teacher Training Colleges at a cost of Sh2 billion and conversion of 20,000 interns to permanent and pensionable terms at a cost of Sh7.2 billion, among other activities.

The Commission also informed the Committee of several critical programmes and activities that are critical but have not been accommodated within the 2026/27 proposed ceilings due to resource constraints.

These include the Commission’s proposed allocation in the Budget Policy Statement (BPS), where TSC’s total requirement is Sh26.5 billion considering the number of additional teachers who have been and are to be recruited.

As TSC commences the process of updating existing data for registered teachers not currently employed by the Commission, the issue of registered tutors aged 45 and above but still not formally employed could also be revisited as raised by Mps last year.

The committee members, led by Vice Chairperson Kabondo Kasipul Mp, Eve Obara, said the number is important to understand the financial implications if they were to be recruited one-off, as part of measures to ensure teachers in their prime ages are absorbed to not only obtain their retirement benefits but also maximize their long-term teaching expertise.

TSC recruits registered teachers in accordance with the recruitment guidelines, with the available vacancies advertised based on the demand for and supply of teachers as per the existing establishments and budgetary provisions.

“It is sad that some people even sell their property to get resources to train as a teacher, then later on, you stay for 10 or more years, and you don't even get employed at the end of the day. I want to request TSC to just have a list of all the teachers because they are registered, then appear before this committee, so that they submit this list and we see the way forward,” Narok County Mp, Rebecca Tonkei, proposed.

TSC then compiled the data and presented it to the committee, showing that at least 39,017 registered teachers are aged 45 and above but were not yet employed by the Commission as of June 2025.

TSC Acting Chief Executive Officer, Eveleen Mitei, appeared before the committee last year, responding to questions raised by Soy Mp, David Kiplagat, on the plight of unemployed teachers aged 45 and above.

“I wish to clarify that the fact that the teachers are indicated as unemployed by the Commission does not necessarily mean that the said teachers are available in the job market. The majority of these teachers have pursued different career paths in the various sectors of our economy, including teaching in private schools,” she explained.

Education committee Chairperson, Julius Melly, directed TSC to provide clear data on the 39,017, including their counties, and also a policy paper on how it would handle the affirmative action if an employment opportunity arose, since some of them could have pursued other interests.

“The fact that you are employers of primary and secondary schools, we do not want Early Childhood Development teachers. Give us clear data on those aged 45 and above who are not employed. The statement sought to see how we can give an affirmative action to get them employed, give us the list of all people in two weeks,” Melly directed.

Mitei said that during the Financial Year 2024/25, the Commission received a total of 1,264 applications from teachers who are above 45 years of age.

After the recruitment exercise, she said the Commission recruited a total of 516 teachers aged between 45 and 59, distributed across the country.

Asked about the effort being made to implement affirmative action to address the plight of teachers aged 45 and above, Mitei referred to the Employment and Labor Relations court's judgment, where the court ruled that the cap of 45 years and below as an eligibility criterion during the recruitment of teachers as unconstitutional and illegal.

She said TSC has no age limit for purposes of recruitment, currently, and to this end, the Commission adopted open and merit-based recruitment that allows all registered and qualified teachers to apply regardless of age.

To balance the constitutional requirement of fair competition and merit as the basis of appointment in the public service, to accord some advantage to the elderly teachers, she said, TSC has had to employ strategies to grant some advantage to the elderly.

She said applicants earn points based on their age, with older candidates receiving higher scores, a situation that ensures that teachers who have waited longer for employment are given a competitive advantage.

Similarly, she explained that teachers who graduated earlier, many of whom are above 45 years, are awarded additional points in recognition of the length of stay since graduation.

“In cases where two or more candidates score equally after all parameters are considered, age is used as a tiebreaker, with preference given to the older applicant.

To adjust the current recruitment framework, to discourage prolonged delays in employment and late entry into the profession, Mitei told the Mps that it has been seeking an enhanced budget.

“The Commission has consistently appealed to the National Assembly for an enhanced budget for the recruitment of teachers. Recruitment of teachers across the country is premised on the availability of funds and the existence of vacancies in authorised establishments. The Commission has placed its case for more funds to facilitate the recruitment of teachers,” she explained.

Mitei also said that the  Commission has developed a scoring criterion that accords more marks based on age and the year of graduation, with the oldest getting more marks, as part of adjusting the current recruitment framework.