TSC softens hiring guidelines for new 5,000 teaching jobs

TSC CEO Nancy Macharia. [Standard]

The teachers’ employer has relaxed recruitment rules to accommodate candidates who may have graduated this year, to compete for the 5,000 teaching jobs. However, older candidates past 45 years will still be ineligible to apply for the jobs.

Candidates who graduated in 2009 or earlier have also been allocated more points, which means they will stand a higher chance of grabbing the jobs as the employer fights to complete backlog.

There are about 300,000 trained teachers yet to secure teaching jobs. Most of them graduated years back.

The 2019 guidelines for recruitment of secondary school teachers however reveal that Master’s degree holders will have an advantage as the Government embarks on recruiting 5,000 secondary school teachers to ease pressure occasioned by the 100 per cent transition.

Clear backlog           

The TSC selection score sheet shows university graduates with first class honours have been allocated 35 points. Those with a second-class, upper division will get 30 points and those with a ‘pass’ will get a maximum of 20 points.

Diploma graduates with distinctions will get up to 25 points while those with credits will get 20. Those with pass in diploma will get 15 points.

Compared to previous years, the diploma categories scores have been dropped by five points. And also unlike last year, candidates who graduated in 2009 and earlier will get 60 points. This means that TSC is keen to accord these candidates jobs to clear backlog. And those who graduated in 2010 will get a maximum score of 55with five points deducted for those who graduated in subsequent years.

Those who graduated last year will be allocated 15 points with this year candidates given only score 10 points in previous years, graduates of 2013 or earlier were allocated 60 points against those of 2014 who got a maximum of 52. Graduates of 2015 scored a maximum of 44 points.

TSC has however locked out graduate candidates whose subjects are currently not in curriculum. These include Bachelors of Science or Bachelor of Arts in Natural Resources, Meteorology, Forestry, Animal Husbandry, Horticulture, Farm Machinery, Fisheries, Anthropology, Sociology, Theology and Journalism.

“Applicants with Economics/Commerce/Accounting, Social Education and Ethics can apply for business studies and CRE/IRE vacancies,” said TSC CEO Nancy Macharia. She added, “Diploma teachers who graduated on or before 2008 with a mean grade of C (plain) in the two teaching subjects are eligible,” said Ms Macharia.

The Commission says the recruitment will support the government policy of 100 per cent transition to secondary schools.

The government allocated Sh2.5 billion to hire the teachers as Ministry of Education moved to admit more than one million students to Form One.

Macharia said the applications must be complete by February 19. “Interested candidates should apply to secretary Board of Management (BoM) of the school where vacancy has been advertised and submit copy of the application to TSC County Director,” said Macharia.

She cautioned that the Commission will only deal with TSC County Directors and BoM during the employment exercise.

Candidates who are past 45 years will be ineligible to apply for the jobs, TSC says.

The process will bring to 13,700 the total number of teachers hired since the introduction of 100 per cent transition policy. The government rolled out free day secondary education last year, pushing enrollment figures up by some more 200,000.

The key objective of the 100 per cent transition policy is to ensure improved access, retention and completion. Some 8,700 teachers were recruited last year, leaving an annual deficit of 3,300.

TSC had proposed to recruit 12,626 annually for four years since 2018 at a cost of Sh8.3 billion.

Last year, Macharia said the rise in enrollment of students to secondary schools in recent years has exposed the capacity of teachers.

A TSC brief on teachers support to the transition course reveals that a single streamed school with four classes (Form One to Form Four) requires nine teachers, including the school head.

“Any additional class will therefore, require two additional teachers,” the document reads.