The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has promoted a total of 21,383 teachers.
The Commission has published a list containing details of the 21,383 teachers who it says have been successfully promoted following October promotion interviews.
The list which is available on TSC website follows interviews that were done in October for both primary and post primary school teachers.
The interviews for primary school teacher applicants ran from 6th to 10th October while that for post primary institutions (secondary and TTC), and Curriculum Support Officers (CSOs) which were to run from 13th to 24th October were later rescheduled to 21st October through Thursday, 23rd October following death of former PM Raila Odinga.
The teachers will be issued with their promotion letters as well as deployment letters to enable them report to their stations to begin their new roles.
The Commission however continues to be criticized by teachers which many termed the promotions ‘skewed’.
This is especially after some teachers with recent TSC numbers appeared on the promotion list that was published on 1st January, 2026.
Many teachers who applied and attended interviews have not been promoted. Some teachers have served for very long time in one job group but did not show on the list.
However Commission officials have defended the list saying the promotions were fair and followed the scoresheet that was published to guide the exercise.
Many put blame on the advertised slots which say they are few compared to the number of teachers seeking to be promoted but are hopeful that more funds will be set aside for the exercise in this years budget.
Majority of teachers promoted are those aged fifty years and above especially for areas classified as non-ASAL.
Teachers with TSC numbers starting with 2, 3 and 4 were given an upper hand showing age was a key factor for promotion before other criteria like acting responsibility or length of stay in current job group.
Teachers with recent TSC numbers were mostly from very hard to staff counties like Mandera, Garissa and Wajir as well as teachers working in SNE schools which has less competition.
Many teachers have described the promotions as cosmetic and a mere gimmick after it was revealed that a significant number of promoted teachers are facing retirement as early as July 2026.
Some teachers expressed disappointments especially after TSC failed to invite them for interviews due to their age.
The promotions did not consider merit but was strictly on age of the teacher.
During the promotion interviews TSC only invited aged teachers, a paradigm shift from previous interviews.
In the scoresheet teachers promotions were largely based on age, year of service in current grade and whether one acted as school administrator.
Teachers aged 52 to 56 years scored 25 marks, 47 to 51 years got 20 marks while those aged below 41 years scored 10 marks.
The years a teacher served in current grade was also key in this years promotion. Many junior teachers were automatically locked out.
Those who served for at least seven years in same job group were awarded 30 marks.
Six, five, four and three years scored 25, 20, 15 and 10 marks respectively according to the promotion scoresheet.
The promoted teachers will be posted to schools to start their new roles.
The Commission has also unveiled some radical changes that favour teachers promoted to administrative grades.
The changes affect teachers promoted to be Heads of Institutions, Deputy Heads of Institutions, Senior Teachers and Senior Masters.
In the new arrangement, the Commission has now allowed teachers to chose schools they would like to be transferred to upon getting promotion.
The policy shift announced by TSC aims to end the practice of transffering teachers after they gain promotion.
The promoted teachers have the option to work in their current station or chose schools of choice.
Previously teachers were deployed outside their home sub counties which affected them deeply.
Some teachers lost allowances like hardship allowance after being transferred to areas that are not classified as hardship zones by TSC.
This practise also affected teachers families despite the Commission ending delocalization policy.
The changes are captured in new TSC transfer module which was launched on 18th August this year for three month piloting that ended on 18th November.
In this promotion the Commission had shortlisted a total of 64,619 teachers after 131,000 teachers applied for the 21,313 promotion slots advertised in August.
The promotions covered teachers from job group C1 to D4 which also included the Curriculum Support Officers (CSOs).
However the promotion slots are likely to go up next year after a pledge by President William Ruto who committed to increase the number of teacher promotions from the current 25,000 to 50,000 annually.
While speaking during a State House meeting with teachers, Ruto said his government will increase allocation for teacher promotions from sh 1 billion to sh 2 billion yearly.
TSC declared a total of 14,034 teacher promotions in December 2022, 36,275 in September 2023, 25,633 in 2024 and 21,313 in August 2025 bringing the total promotions to 97,255 since President Ruto’s tenure.
TSC PROMOTION SCORESHEET 2025 – 2026
1) ACADEMIC AND PROFFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
PhD – 3
Masters – 2
Degree – 1
Maximum 3 Marks
NOTE: Only one, highest qualification, to be awarded
2) TSC (TIMEC/CBC/CEMASTEA County trainers), KNEC (examiners/item developers), KICD (panelist/book evaluator)
Maximum 2 Marks
3) ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITY AND LENGTH OF STAY IN CURRENT GRADE
i)Responsibility
(Marks awarded for performance of administrative duties – This shall apply to those who are performing duties of Head o Deputy Head Teacher OR had earlier acted as such through deployment by the Commission or BOM)
Maximum 25 Marks
| No. of years as administrator | Marks |
| 7 years and above | 25 |
| 6 Years | 22 |
| 5 Years | 18 |
| 4 Years | 14 |
| 3 Years | 10 |
| 2 Years | 6 |
| 6 months (Below 1 year) | 2 |
ii)Length of stay in current grade
(Marks awarded for length of stay in current grade)
Maximum 30 Marks
| No. of years in grade | Marks |
| 7 year and above | 30 |
| 6 years | 25 |
| 5 Years | 20 |
| 4 Years | 15 |
| 3 years | 10 |
| 2 Years | 5 |
| 6 months – 1 year | 3 |
4) PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
TPAD Rating
(Marks awarded for the average Marks in the last 3 years)
Maximum 10 Marks
| Rating Scale | TPAD Marks | Marks |
| 5 | 81% and above | 10 |
| 4 | 61% – 80% | 8 |
| 3 | 41% – 60% | 6 |
| 2 | 21% – 40% | 4 |
| 1 | 1% – 20% | 2 |
5) AGE
Age of the teacher
Maximum 30 Marks
| Age of Teacher | Marks |
| 57 and above | 30 |
| 52 to 56 years | 25 |
| 47 to 51 years | 20 |
| 42 to 46 years | 15 |
| 41 years and below | 10 |
TOTAL MARKS 100
