TSC announces 15,000 vacancies for teachers » Capital News
NAIROBI, Kenya Aug 12 – The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has announced more than 15,000 vacancies for teachers and school administrators.
The application window closes on August 25, with the exercise expected to set the tone for the Commission’s career progression plans through to June 2026.
In a circular issued on August 11, 2025, and addressed to all TSC regional, county, and sub-county directors, the Commission said the vacancies will be filled under a new set of promotion guidelines designed to ensure fairness, transparency, and meritocracy.
The guidelines, which draw on the Constitution’s principles of equity and accountability, the Career Progression Guidelines for Teachers (2018), and the Code of Regulations for Teachers (2015), standardise how promotion opportunities are identified, advertised, and awarded.
“These guidelines standardize the procedures and criteria for promoting teachers across competitive grades in public educational institutions,” the circular states.
“They incorporate the salient constitutional principles of transparency, accountability, fair competition and merit… and will be valid up to 30th June 2026.”
The promotions will cover a wide range of positions from Chief Principals and Senior Principals in secondary schools and teacher training colleges to Deputy Principals, Senior Headteachers, Headteachers, and Curriculum Support Officers.
The Commission said it will identify vacancies based on available budget, attrition, and gaps in the approved establishment, with all openings publicly advertised on the TSC website, in national newspapers, and through other channels deemed appropriate.
Those interested must submit their applications exclusively through the TSC online portal.
The Commission has stressed that manual submissions will not be accepted, and all application fields must be accurately completed before submission.
Once received, applications will be shortlisted in a strict ratio of three candidates per vacancy. Interviews will be conducted at sub-county, county, and regional levels depending on the grade, with candidates receiving at least seven days’ notice before their scheduled appearance.
The guidelines outline a detailed scoring system to ensure objectivity, covering academic and professional qualifications, time spent in the current grade, performance in the Teacher Performance Appraisal and Development (TPAD) tool, acting responsibilities, and involvement in national education programmes such as CBC training, Kenya National Examinations Council activities, and Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development assignments.
Seniority, age, and additional professional contributions will also influence the final tally of marks.
The Commission has also issued a stern warning to applicants to be wary of fraudsters who may attempt to exploit the process.
“The promotion exercise is free of charge,” the circular cautioned. “Canvassing in any form will lead to automatic disqualification. Any fraudulent activity should be reported to the nearest TSC office or police station.”
Once the process is concluded, the list of successful candidates will be published on the TSC website, and those promoted will be posted to institutions with available vacancies. Offers of promotion will lapse if not accepted within 30 days, in line with the Code of Regulations for Teachers.
In the current financial year, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) received Sh387.2 billion, including Sh7.2 billion earmarked for the recruitment of intern teachers and Sh980 million for capacity building under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
Records show that more than 178,871 teachers have remained in the same job groups for years due to a Sh35 billion budget deficit at TSC.
TSC attributed the stagnation to chronic underfunding that has hindered the implementation of the commission’s career progression guidelines.