Teachers are required to update their T-Pay details in an exercise dubbed ‘Validation of data on Tpay system’.
The exercise which started on 9th June, 2022 and scheduled to close by 15th July 2022 has not been running smoothly for many teachers.
According to the Commission, all its teachers must validate their user profiles to help in enhancing security features of its various systems.
It is the TPAY system that handles teachers and secretariat Pay slips, P9 statements, Control sheets, Third Party transactions, application and approval of Loans process.
According to TSC users of the system have faced security challenges in the past where fraudsters have used details of legit users of the system to gain access into the system.
A good is where a teacher had to pay a loan of sh 1 million which was initiated and approved by the fraudsters.
To curb this, the Commission has enhanced security by introducing a two level authentication process, where OTP is sent to the user’s registered phone number or Email to enable them log in.
Secondly, the user’s passport size photograph is to be updated in the TPAY user profile for purposes of identification.
This feature comes in handy as it shall assist the financial institutions in physical identification of the applicants on financial services as legitimate users and owners of the TPAY accounts.
In order to enhance the security of teachers’ information and in line with the Data Protection Act 201 9, the Commission requires all teachers to update their TPAY profile in the following manner:
i. Access the payslip page through the TSC website and log into TPAY,
ii. Upload a passport photo clearly showing the face, without glasses or head-covered,
iii. Enter and verify current mobile numbers,
iv. Once you enter the mobile number and OTP (One Time Password) will be sent to your mobile number.
v. Input the OTP to validate the mobile number.
vi. Click on the validate tab to verify that it is the correct mobile number,
NB: Only a valid code will be accepted and once verified the number cannot be changed, The mobile number will be used during loan application and approvals
vii. Enter and verify official email issued by the Commission e.g xyz@mwalimu.tsc.go.ke
However teachers are experiencing a lot of problems especially with email verification part. Below are common problems with solutions.
1. Am getting validation code mismatch what should I do?
When you get validation code mismatch mostly it is not because you have not entered the correct validation code but because you have skipped an important part which is to upload a profile photo. Start by uploading a good passport size photo which will serve as a profile picture then proceed to validate your phone number.
2. The system tells me to upload a passport size less than 5MB what does this mean?
This simply means you have uploaded a passport size photo that is too huge for the system to handle.
The system can only deal with photos that are less than 5MB in size. The solution is to resize your photo to get an image size of less than 5MB alternatively you can take another photo with reduced resolution to get a smaller image size.
3. I have problem with email verification, I don’t have a TSC email what should I do?
When TSC ordered teachers to activate their TSC email around 191,199 teachers complied. This means there are thousands others without official TSC email.
However you can create one if you didn’t by using the link https://office.com and clicking sign up for the free version of office where you will be directed to a place where you can create your email account. Use your first name and surname and the last two digits of your TSC number @mwalimu.tsc.go.ke for example LucyNdeka65@mwalimu.tsc.go.ke
4. Where can I login so I can access the OTP sent to my TSC email
To access your email account go to https://office.com and sign in. For Android phone users you can go to Play Store and download Microsoft Outlook which will make it easy to login to your email account. Ensure you enter the right email address and password to successfully sign in.
According to TSC Heads of institution who will not have validated the particulars of teachers under their supervision within the stipulated time will not be able to access their TPAY accounts.
5. What should I do I have tried in vain to get OTP in my email. Every time I check its not there yet am told its sent to my email.
Its possible to have OTP verification problems especially with your email. The Commission has provided its officials to help teachers with problems they can’t handle.
If you experience problems that you can’t handle just send an email to TSC officials explaining your problem in details. Use their official address tpayverification@tsc.go.ke and ensure you attach a scanned copy of original ID.
Alternatively you can contact your TSC County ICT officers for assistance on the matter.