TSC Has Shortlisted 33,000 Teachers For Promotion

The list of shortlisted candidates for teacher recruitment is now ready, the Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC) has said. The interview for the first 15,000 teachers kicks off this Monday in an exercise that will take at least two weeks.

The Teachers Service Commission has announced the shortlisting of more than 33,000 teachers to fill 15,000 promotion vacancies announced in late 2020.

According to a statement to the media, the Teacher Service Commission explained that the interviews were scheduled to take place between February 8 and February 19. In a new turn of events, KNUT has rushed to court to stop the process.

“The interviewees will not need to travel to Nairobi, but the commission will go out to all counties and meet shortlisted teachers there,” said TSC CEO Nancy Macharia.

The number excludes members of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut), which has had a frosty relationship with the TSC. Knut members were not considered for the promotions owing to a protracted disagreement between the union and TSC over the evaluation criteria.

The interviews will take place between today and February 19; before the hearing of a case in which the teachers union has sued the TSC chief executive, Nancy Macharia, for contempt of court starts the following week.

“The interviewees will not need to travel to Nairobi, but the commission will go out to all counties and meet shortlisted teachers there,” said Mrs. Macharia in a statement.

TSC also announced that it will affirmatively confirm all acting heads of institutions and acting deputy heads of institutions in all counties under arid and semi-arid lands. Two weeks ago, the commission also invited diploma holders to apply for 1,000 promotion slots.

The commission will promote the teachers based on the Career Progression Guidelines (CPGs) that Knut is opposed to and which leaves out its members.

In 2018, the CPGs were developed to guide the commission in tracking the career growth of teachers. The guidelines are meant to guide the recruitment, retention, development, training, and promotion of teachers to ensure they meet the set standards.

Under the CPG, the career path for school administrators is clearly outlined. This separates the career paths of school administrators and that of classroom teachers. It is designed to provide clear reporting structures in institutions and eliminate overlap in the grading structure.