TSC to hire 10,000 new teachers, promote others

Teachers Service Commission CEO Nancy Macharia. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has rolled out a plan for the recruitment and promotion of over 10,000 teachers.

The teachers’ employer announced it is recruiting 5,000 secondary school teachers and another 1,000 for primary schools.

All new teachers hired will serve on permanent and pensionable terms of service.

Commission Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia said the additional teachers will support the government policy on 100 per cent transition of learners from primary to secondary schools.

Another 2,987 teachers are also being hired to replace those who exited secondary school teaching service through natural attrition and retirement.

Only 927 teachers will be recruited to replace those who exited primary teaching service.

The Treasury allocated Sh2.5 billion towards hiring of new teachers, even as the TSC said it requires about 100,000 teachers to plug the staffing gaps and take care of increased enrolments.

In a report tabled in Parliament ahead of schools reopening in July, Dr Macharia said TSC urgently required Sh17 billion to hire 26,000 teachers to manage increased enrolment under the 100 per cent transition.

She said TSC required another Sh8.1 billion annually to hire 12,500 teachers to plug the normal shortage.

“Under normal staffing, the commission needed 50,504 teachers to support the existing staff establishment,” Macharia told MPs.

Communication from TSC however says only 6,000 new teachers will be hired towards plugging staffing gaps as 3, 914 are hired to replace those who have exited.

“Interested and qualified candidates should submit their applications online through the Commission’s website, www.tsc.go.ke under ‘Careers’ or teachersonline.tsc.go.ke not later than July 12, 2021,” said Macharia.

Early this year, TSC hired 12,000 interns under the Covid-19 economic stimulus package.

The interns, recruited at a cost of Sh2.4 billion, were part of the broad plan to take the pressure off teachers, who were overstretched due to the new realities occasioned by Covid-19.

Promoted

Macharia said another 1,000 qualified primary school teachers will be promoted to teach in secondary schools.

She said those wishing to be promoted and deployed to teach in secondary schools must be holders of P1 certificates.

The teachers must also have undertaken a Bachelor’s Degree in Education with two teaching subjects.

“They must also have attained at least C+ (Plus) mean grade at Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) or its equivalent and C+ (Plus) in the two teaching subjects or its equivalent,” said Macharia.

“Successful candidates under this category shall be appointed at T-Scale 7, Grade C2 under the Career Progression Guidelines for Teachers and shall be deployed to secondary schools where vacancies exist.”

This means teachers opposed to the CPGs are not eligible or may not be considered for the slots.  

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