TSC To Recruit And Replace Teachers in November, What P1 And DPTE Holders Need To Know
If you have been holding a P1 or DPTE certificate and waiting for your chance, November could be your month. The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has confirmed that it will recruit new teachers and replace those leaving the service, right after a wave of retirements in September and October.
The TSC chairperson has said publicly that recruitment and replacement of teachers who exit through natural attrition will happen in November.
Natural attrition means retirement, resignation, death, or dismissal. Retirements bunch up in September and October, which opens vacancies in primary, junior school and senior secondary.
The exercise comes after the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) exams and assessments, so schools can close the academic year before teachers are posted and new ones onboarded. Every successful candidate will be hired on permanent and pensionable (P&P) terms.
November will also see a separate exercise: moving 20,000 junior school intern teachers to P&P terms. This is a transition, not open recruitment, and it runs on a different track from the P1 process.
Applications for this group closed at midnight on August 31. Interviews and document verification are expected in November. The interns complete their two-year internship on December 31, and the TSC has given 70 out of 100 marks in the evaluation for that tenure alone.
The commission also plans to hire more than 16,000 additional intern teachers in November to boost staffing in schools.
Secondary and junior schools are short of roughly 100,000 teachers nationwide, and junior schools account for about 78,000 of those gaps. Primary schools are the reverse. The TSC says they are overstaffed because Grade 7 and 8 learners have moved to junior secondary institutions.
How primary school recruitment will work
Under the circular from TSC CEO Eveleen Mitei, primary recruitment on P&P terms for the 2025/2026 financial year is decentralised. Sub-County and County offices run it, while TSC Headquarters can step in directly where needed.
Step 1: Advertisement and online application. Vacancies are advertised publicly, and you apply through the official TSC portal for the specific county or sub-county posts you want.
Registration under Section 23(1) of the TSC Act is compulsory, and unregistered applicants are disqualified immediately. If you are not registered, do it before the advert comes out.
Step 2: Selection panel. Each sub-county has a three-member panel:
Sub-County Director (Chairperson)
Sub-County HR Officer (Secretary)
Curriculum Support Officer (Member)
Regional and county directors brief the panels on the rules before interviews start, so scoring is consistent across sub-counties.
Step 3: Shortlisting. Shortlisted candidates get an SMS at least seven days before document verification. Keep your registered line active and check your messages.
Step 4: Document verification. You must show up in person with original documents, including:
- National ID
- TSC registration certificate
- Academic certificates
- School-leaving certificates
- NCPWD card, where applicable
How to prepare now
- Confirm your TSC registration is valid.
- Gather all original documents and keep photocopies.
- Keep your phone number on the TSC portal current.
- Watch the TSC website and official social media for adverts.
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