Diploma Teachers in Primary Schools Enter at C1, but the Road Beyond Is Steeper Than It Looks
DPTE graduates will be employed at grade C1, but promotion to C2 depends on interviews, unlike their secondary school counterparts. A new Career Progression Guidelines document, due to take effect in July 2027, may change the picture.
For decades, the Primary Teacher Education (PTE) certificate, popularly known as the P1 certificate, was the gateway into the primary school classroom.
That gateway is now narrowing. Under the Teachers Service Commission’s (TSC) framework, the P1 certificate is being phased out and replaced with the Diploma in Primary Teacher Education (DPTE), a qualification aligned with the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).
What the change means for the careers of newly trained primary teachers is a question every DPTE student, and every serving P1 teacher, should understand clearly.
A new entry point: grade C1
Under the framework, teachers who graduate with the DPTE will be employed by the TSC at grade C1.
This becomes the entry grade for primary school teachers, replacing the old arrangement in which P1 teachers joined the Commission at grade B5.
On paper, this looks like a clear step forward. A teacher who trained for three years at diploma level starts a full grade band above where a P1 certificate holder used to begin.
The new entry point recognises the longer, more demanding training and signals that the TSC is raising the professional standard of the primary school teacher.
But entering at a higher grade is only half of the story. A career is judged less by where one starts than by how far one can climb, and how quickly. This is where the position of the primary DPTE teacher becomes complicated.
The secondary school comparison
To understand the concern, it helps to look at how diploma holders in secondary schools are treated under the current Career Progression Guidelines (CPG).
A diploma teacher in a secondary school also enters employment at grade C1. After serving for three years, that teacher is promoted to grade C2, and the promotion is automatic.
No interview is required and no competition is involved. The teacher simply serves the required period and moves up.
That secondary school teacher does eventually hit a ceiling. Grade C3 is a competitive grade for diploma holders in secondary schools, so promotion beyond C2 is not guaranteed and depends on competition for limited slots.
Many diploma teachers in secondary schools therefore spend long stretches at C2, waiting for an opportunity to advance.
Still, they get one automatic promotion before the climb becomes competitive. The path is: C1, then C2 automatically after three years, then a competitive barrier at C3.
The primary school reality: stuck at C1
The primary school DPTE teacher faces a different path. Like their secondary school colleagues, they enter at C1. But for primary school teachers, grade C2 is itself a competitive grade.
Promotion to it is not automatic and does not follow from time served. It is subject to successful promotion interviews.
The primary school diploma teacher’s path is therefore: C1, then a competitive barrier at C2.
Two teachers can hold the same diploma, enter at the same grade and serve the same three years. The secondary school teacher moves to C2 without lifting a finger, while the primary school teacher must compete for the same grade through interviews. If no interview opportunity comes, or if the teacher does not succeed, they remain at C1.
For primary school teachers, this is the source of the sense of being “stuck.” The barrier appears one step earlier than it does for their secondary school counterparts.
The secondary school diploma teacher gets a guaranteed rung before hitting the wall, and the primary school teacher does not.
Why this matters
The difference is more than a technicality. Grades determine pay, and the gap between grades compounds over a career.
A teacher who is automatically promoted after three years will earn more, and will build toward later promotions from a higher base, than a colleague who stays on the entry grade for years.
There is also a question of fairness and morale. The two groups hold equivalent qualifications and do work of comparable professional weight.
A teacher handling a Grade 4 class and one handling a Form 2 class both carry demanding workloads.
The difference in how the CPG treats their progression is hard to justify on the basis of qualifications alone, and it is likely to be a growing source of frustration as more DPTE graduates join the service.
It also runs against the logic of the replacement itself. If the DPTE is meant to elevate the primary school teacher, the career ladder should reward that elevation.
A qualification upgrade that leaves a teacher waiting at the entry grade, subject to interview slots that may or may not open, risks undermining the very goal the TSC is pursuing.
From DPTE to DTE PP&P
The training landscape is shifting again. The government plans to phase out the DPTE course itself and replace it with the Diploma in Teacher Education, Pre-Primary and Primary (DTE PP&P).
The difference lies in scope. The DPTE prepares teachers for the primary school section only, covering Grade 1 to Grade 6.
Graduates of the DTE PP&P will be trained to handle both the nursery and primary school sections, from PP1 through Grade 6.
This reflects the structure of the education system under the CBC, where pre-primary education sits alongside the primary years as part of the basic education cycle.
It also makes the new graduate a more versatile teacher, one who can be deployed across the early learning years without a separate qualification for pre-primary.
For teachers already in training, or those considering their options, the message is that the qualification landscape is moving quickly.
The P1 certificate is on its way out, the DPTE is a transitional qualification, and the DTE PP&P is where the system is heading.
A new CPG is coming in July 2027
The grade structure described above belongs to the current Career Progression Guidelines, which were introduced in 2018. That document is itself being phased out.
Speaking on World Teachers’ Day on 5 October, President William Ruto said that SRC Chairman Sammy Chepkwony had briefed him that the revised CPG, which replaces the current guidelines, is undergoing job evaluation and will be out in two weeks.
The new CPG is to be integrated with the 2025-2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in July 2027, when teachers will be receiving a salary increment.
That timing makes the placement of teachers in the new structure especially important, because it will determine where each teacher lands when the increment takes effect.
The TSC’s 9 June 2026 stakeholder presentation of the proposed guidelines gives a first look at what is coming.
The TSC says the 2018 CPG has problems that the new one is meant to fix: pay differences between teachers, administrators and curriculum support officers; different treatment of teachers with the same qualifications; a tall scale that stretches the time needed to grow; and professional and administrative work mixed together.
To address these, the number of levels across the service is cut from 56 to 43. In regular primary, the levels fall from eight to six.
What the proposal says about diploma holders in primary
For primary DPTE and DTE PP&P holders, the proposal outlines a defined path:
- Entry at Teacher 8. This is the entry grade for diploma holders. Today’s Primary Teacher 1 (C1) maps to Teacher 8.
- Common cadre up to Teacher 7. Teacher 7 carries the designation Senior Teacher (Primary), and today’s Senior Teacher 1 (C3) and Senior Teacher 2 (C2) are merged into this one grade.
- Competitive from Teacher 6. Moving beyond Teacher 7 means competing for Teacher 6, which carries the Deputy Principal (Primary) designation, and for Principal II, Principal I, Principal and the grades above.
If this structure is adopted as proposed, it would be a significant change for the teachers described in this article.
The lower rungs are “common cadre” grades, meaning promotion through them does not depend on competition.
A primary diploma holder would have a guaranteed first step up from the entry grade, rather than waiting on interviews for the equivalent of C2.
The new structure also draws a line between qualifications. In secondary schools, Teacher 8 is the entry for diploma holders, Teacher 7 is the entry for degree holders and the common cadre for diploma holders, and Teacher 6 is the common cadre for degree holders.
The proposal is not without trade-offs. Everything from Teacher 6 upward is competitive, and “competitive” in the new framework means promotion based on merit and demonstrated excellence rather than years served.
That can include strong learner results, recognition such as the Wajibika awards for excellence in the Teacher Performance Appraisal and Development (TPAD) process or the Teacher of the Year Awards (TOYA), and talent beyond the classroom, such as coaching winning choirs, drama groups, sports teams or science fair projects.
Certificate holders will also see changes: the PTE certificate entry is Teacher 9, and Teacher 8 is the common cadre for PTE holders, so a certificate holder who moves up will share a grade with a fresh diploma graduate.
Grades, not pay, and not yet final
It is important to be careful about what the proposal does and does not settle. It is about grades, not pay, and none of it is final until job evaluation is complete.
The TSC’s stated way forward is to submit the CPG and job descriptions to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), conduct the job evaluation, hold a clinic on the results, communicate the results and their financial implications, and publish them to teachers. Only then will the salary scales be attached to the new grades.
That means the question of who gains and who loses cannot be answered with certainty today. Teachers whose current grade is merged into another, in particular, should read the final document closely when it appears.
What teachers should do now
For DPTE graduates and those about to join the service, a few practical points follow.
First, understand the rules that apply to you today. Under the current CPG, you will enter at C1, and movement to C2 in primary schools is by promotion interview, not by time served. Keep your documents in order and watch for TSC advertisements for promotion interviews.
Second, take performance records seriously. The direction of travel in the new CPG is toward merit.
Whether it is TPAD documentation, learner outcomes or co-curricular achievements, a clear record will count in a competitive system.
Third, watch the release of the new CPG. With the President indicating that it is weeks away, and with integration into the CBA planned for July 2027, the details of grade placement will soon become public.
Teachers’ unions will likely press for clarity on how the new grades are mapped, and how fairness will be ensured for teachers in under-resourced schools.
Finally, stay informed about qualification changes. With the DPTE giving way to the DTE PP&P, anyone planning their training or an upgrade should confirm how the TSC will treat their qualification under the new structure.
Conclusion
The replacement of the P1 certificate with the DPTE, and later with the DTE PP&P, marks a genuine upgrade in how primary school teachers are trained. Entry at grade C1 recognises that upgrade.
But under the current CPG, the benefit stalls quickly: where secondary school diploma teachers move automatically to C2 after three years, their primary school colleagues must win C2 in a competitive interview.
Whether that imbalance survives will depend on the new Career Progression Guidelines, which begin their integration with the CBA in July 2027.
For now, the proposal on the table points to a more defined ladder for primary diploma holders, with a common cadre up to Teacher 7 and competition above it.
Until job evaluation is complete and the final document is published, teachers should plan carefully, document their work, and read the fine print when it arrives.
