TSC waives promotion rule as 25,252 teachers move up

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has promoted 25,252 teachers after waiving a key requirement that educators serve at least three years in one grade before moving up.

The commission said 5,291 teachers were promoted despite not meeting the three-year threshold. Most of them took up principal and deputy headteacher roles, where the number of eligible candidates fell short of demand.

“In the just concluded promotion exercise, the number of teachers who had met the three-year requirement in the feeder grades fell significantly short of the number of vacancies,” said the commission in a statement dated May 22.

The move comes after the National Assembly allocated Sh1 billion to support promotions, which covered only 5,690 of the 25,252 vacancies.

According to the commission, a total of 1,410 teachers were promoted to principal roles under Grade D3, while 3,686 were appointed as deputy headteachers under Grade C4.

The commission said only 598 teachers had served long enough to qualify for the 1,410 principal vacancies, while 7,460 qualified for the 3,686 deputy headteacher posts.

To address the shortfall, the commission temporarily lowered the requirement to six months of service in one grade.

The Teachers Service Commission explained that the waiver aimed to attract more applicants and address a long-standing issue of teachers working in acting positions.

 “This policy decision helped ensure that the vacancies were competitively filled, especially in arid and semi-arid regions where recruitment and retention have been difficult,” said the commission.

 Out of the 5,291 teachers promoted without the three-year service, 3,427 were placed in the key administrative grades of principal and deputy headteacher.

 The commission requested that all teachers promoted under the temporary measure be retained, stating that the waiver had been essential to filling critical staffing gaps.

 

Looking ahead, the commission said it would develop and publicise standardised promotion guidelines, following public participation with teachers, unions and other stakeholders.

 The new framework will also comply with constitutional principles including equity, inclusiveness and non-discrimination.

 “The commission remains committed to ensuring fair and accountable processes in future promotions,” said the statement.