Secondary school principals through Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (Kessha) have filed a formal complaint to Teachers Service Commission (TSC) over what they term as unfair promotion criteria.
The principals argue the quota system used to distribute the 19,943 promotion positions advertised in 2024 disadvantages regions with more qualified teachers, favoring areas with fewer qualified candidates.
Regional Quotas Concerns
Kessha Chairman Willy Kuria outlined the grievances in a petition to TSC and National Assembly Education Committee saying;
- Teachers from some regions were called for interviews despite not meeting the six months requirement in their current job groups.
- Qualified teachers in other regions were overlooked especially those applying for Deputy D2 and below (Deputy Principal II – Secondary School) positions.
- The process favours teachers from Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) regions at the expense of others.
He warned that if not checked this disparity will lead to stagnation of teachers in some regions and will not be based on merit and experience.
Demand for Transparency in Promotions
Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has also weighed in and is demanding TSC to publish the list of all teachers eligible for promotion in 2024-2025 cycle. The union is also criticising the equal allocation of vacancies across all 47 counties saying;
- Counties with over 11,000 teachers received the same number of promotion slots as those with 1,000 teachers, creating unequal chance of promotion.
- A teacher in a smaller county is ten times more likely to be promoted than one in a more populous county.
Call for Merit-Based Promotions
The protesting principals and teachers are saying promotions should be based on merit, experience and individual achievement not geographical quotas.
Kessha and KUPPET are asking TSC to;
- Review the promotion criteria to ensure fair distribution based on teacher population and qualification.
- Clearly communicate the promotion requirements to avoid misleading applicants.
- Address stagnation issues caused by budgetary constraints and regional disparities.If not checked.
