23,388 teachers were promoted to new job groups in January and February 2025 but not all will assume their new roles immediately.
Some Promoted Teachers to Wait
Although a big number of teachers have received both appointment and deployment letters, some of those promoted are yet to be posted. According to the new directive, teachers without immediate vacancies at their new job groups will be placed on a waiting list until space becomes available.
This affects mostly school heads and deputies who will wait for existing administrators to retire or exit the service starting from 30th June 2025 to create room for them.
TSC expects another round of mass teacher retirements by 31st August 2025 which will create more space for those in limbo.
Promotion Fiasco and Revised List
The promotions were approved by the National Assembly Committee on Education chaired by MP Julius Melly but the approved number was far below the 25,252 teachers targeted for promotion. Only 5,690 positions were funded through a Sh1 billion allocation by Parliament.
The process was marred by controversy after it was revealed that 5,291 teachers were promoted despite not meeting the minimum three-year service requirement as per the Career Progression Guidelines (CPG).
TSC CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia confirmed that 1,864 teachers were later removed from the promotion list. The positions they vacated were redistributed based on the number of eligible applicants in each county.
Pending Guidelines and Reforms
Dr. Macharia told the Education Committee that TSC is developing a standardized promotion framework which will have clear criteria and transparent procedures. The reforms will address:
- Biased promotions
- Regional discrimination
- Promotion of junior teachers over experienced ones
- Uneven distribution of vacancies
TSC is also automating the entire promotion process where teachers will apply, track and receive interview feedback and promotion letters through a digital portal.Also, a standardized interview scoring system has been introduced. It will consider factors such as performance appraisals, leadership roles, academic qualifications, age and professional contributions.
Posting Contingent on Chapter 6 Compliance
Promoted teachers will be required to produce five documents in line with Chapter 6 of the Constitution on Leadership and Integrity before they assume office. These are:
- Certificate of Good Conduct from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI)
- Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) Clearance Certificate
- Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Tax Compliance Certificate
- Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) Clearance
- Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) Clearance Certificate
TSC Advertises Nearly 20,000 New Promotion Slots
Amid rising demand for upward mobility in the profession, TSC has advertised 19,943 new promotion vacancies. These span across primary, secondary, special needs education (SNE), and teacher training colleges (TTCs).
Key Highlights of Advertised Vacancies Include:
- Chief Principal (Grade D5): 47 positions
- Senior Principal (D4): 129 positions
- Principal (D3): 652 positions
- Deputy Principal II & III (D2 & D1): Over 2,100 positions
- Senior Masters (C5–C4): More than 4,000 positions
- Senior Teachers & Headteachers (C3–C2): Over 10,000 positions
(Total advertised: 19,943 positions)
The Commission is currently seeking additional funding to support promotions for 20,000 more teachers in the coming year.
