TSC to Verify and Deploy Primary School Teachers to Junior Secondary Schools in March 2025

TSC to start verifying documents and posting of primary school teachers to JSS in March 2025

Low Application Turnout Delays Exercise

TSC opened the online application on January 13, 2025 and was supposed to close on January 24, 2025 but due to low applications they extended the deadline to encourage more Primary Teacher Education (PTE) teachers to apply.

TSC wants to deploy 6,000 P1 teachers to fill the gap in Grades 7, 8 and 9. But many primary school teachers don’t meet the qualifications required for deployment.

Calls to Relax Qualification Requirements

KNUT officials are asking TSC to review its strict academic requirements and instead retool PTE teachers to teach JSS learners. They argue that P1 teachers are well suited to teach subjects like Music, Art and Craft and Physical Education (PE) where JSS teachers are struggling.

To be deployed a teacher must:

1. Have a degree in secondary education with at least C+ in KCSE and C+ in two teaching subjects.
2. Be registered with TSC.
3. Not be under interdiction or disciplinary action.
4. Have at least a Diploma in Education with a minimum of C+ at KCSE or two principals and one subsidiary pass at “A” Level.

Teachers with a plain C in KCSE who later acquired a Diploma in Education and a Bachelor of Education also qualify. But Bachelor of Education (Primary Option) holders are not eligible.

Current JSS Teacher Shortage

TSC CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia said the government needs 149,350 teachers for JSS while only 76,928 have been employed so far. This is 51.5% of the required number.

Currently JSS teachers comprise of:

• 39,550 teachers who were first recruited as interns and later confirmed to permanent terms.* 8,378 P1 teachers deployed between 2023 and 2024.
• 9,000 teachers recruited on permanent and pensionable terms.
• 20,000 interns hired using a Ksh 4.8 billion budget allocation.

Deployment and Verification Process

TSC Sub-County Directors will do the documents verification and issue deployment letters. Each teacher will get two copies—one for the teacher and another for official filing at TSC headquarters.

During deployment TSC will consider:

• Proximity to the current station (teachers will be posted near their current schools).
• Subject combination (teachers will be deployed based on the subjects they are qualified to teach).
• Gender balance.
• Special Needs Education (SNE) qualification, where applicable.

Documents to Submit

Teachers should submit the following during the verification exercise:

1. Original and copy of Degree/Diploma certificate.
2. Original and copy of transcripts.
3. Original and copy of SNE qualification (where applicable).
4. Original and copy of KCSE certificate (or its equivalent).
5. Current payslip copy.
6. A certification from the Head of Institution confirming the teacher’s employment status and that they are not under interdiction or disciplinary action.

What to Expect

Since 2019, TSC has been deploying P1 teachers as a way of promoting them. In previous years:

• 2019 to 2021 – 1,000 teachers were deployed each year.
• 2022 to 2024 – 8,378 teachers were deployed.

With the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) and Competency-Based Assessment (CBA) reforms, TSC has also upgraded over 229,292 teachers since April 2019, including 60,642 JSS teachers between May 2023 and November 2024.

As we approach the March 2025 verification and deployment exercise, all eligible teachers should prepare their documents to ensure a smooth transition to JSS teaching positions.