The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has advertised permanent and pensionable replacement teaching jobs for primary and senior secondary schools.
Below are the guidelines for recruiting teachers on permanent terms for the financial year 2023 July to 2024 July.
GUIDELINES FOR RECRUITMENT OF TEACHERS (PERMANENT & PENSIONABLE), POST PRIMARY INSTITUTIONS – 2023/2024 FINANCIAL YEAR
1.0 GENERAL INFORMATION
i) Following the advertisement for recruitment of teachers, Regional Director, Nairobi, County Directors and Sub-County Directors are required to conduct the selection exercise for the advertised vacancy (ies).
ii) Applicants will be required to submit their applications to the Secretary, Teachers Service Commission online through www.teachersonline.go.ke for the institution/Counties where a vacancy(ies) has been declared. Applicants will be required to upload copies of professional and academic certificates together with any other relevant document as may be applicable.
iii) The Selection Panel is required to exercise the highest degree of transparency and accountability, as stipulated in the Public Officer Ethics Act, and TSC Code of Conduct and Ethics (CoCE, 2015).
iv) The TSC Regional Directors are required to induct TSC County Directors within their areas of jurisdiction, who in turn are expected to induct members of the Selection Panels involved in the recruitment process on the relevant Sections of the Act and the Code of Regulations for Teachers (CORT, 2015) before the commencement of the selection exercise.
v) The TSC County Director together with the TSC Sub-County Directors MUST ensure that the recruitment process is done in strict adherence to the laid down protocols by the Ministry of Health on containment of COVID- 19 pandemic.
vi) TSC Sub-County Directors in liaison with their respective TSC County Directors MUST ensure that venues for selection process are accessible to applicants with disability.
vii) All applicants MUST be registered teachers as per Section 23(1) of the Teachers Service Commission Act, 2012. Applicants who are not duly registered shall not be considered for recruitment.
viii) TSC Sub-County Directors MUST confirm online registration status of the applicants at shortlisting stage to avoid engaging unregistered/deregistered teachers or ineligible applicants.
ix) Applicants whose names differ in the academic and professional certificates and/or identification cards MUST present an Affidavit, sworn under the Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act, Cap 15 of the Laws of Kenya to explain the variance in names.
x) Applicants who re-sat either KCPE or KCSE examinations (or their equivalents) MUST present certified copies of the certificate(s) of the national examination(s) in question for all the attempts. Copies of the certificates must be certified by the Sub-County Directors.
xi) Upon generation of Applicants’ List from the system, the TSC County Director shall share the lists with TSC Sub-County Directors who shall convene the Sub-County Selection Panel(s). The TSC Selection Panel(s) shall verify applicants’ professional, academic and any other relevant documents before shortlisting a maximum of five (5) applicants per advertised post.
xii) Upon generation of Applicants’ Lists from, the TSC County Director shall share the lists with the TSC Sub-County Directors. The TSC Sub-County Directors shall convene the SubCounty Selection Panel(s). The Selection Panel(s) shall identify interview venues, dates and time which shall be communicated to the TSC Headquarters for verification and publishing on the TSC Website.
All the applicants shall be invited for the verification of documents. The applicants shall be informed of the interview venue, date and time through the publishing on the TSC Website at least seven (7) day from the date of publishing.
xiii) Upon invitation for interview, applicants shall be required to present originals and clear photocopies of the following documents: –
a) National identification card;
b) Certificate of Registration as a teacher;
c) Diploma/Degree certificate and official transcripts;
d) KCSE certificates or its equivalent (include certificates for attempts if one re-sat exams);
e) KCPE certificate or its equivalent (include certificates for attempts if one re-sat exams);
f) Primary and Secondary School leaving certificates and other relevant
testimonials;
g) National Council of Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) Card (where applicable);
h) An Affidavit sworn under the Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act, Cap 15 of the Laws of Kenya to explain the variance in names;
i) Letter of certification of results by KNEC (where applicable).
xiv) Persons with disabilities shall be required to indicate their disability status together with the nature of disabilities to inform their placement;
xv) The Commission shall ensure that 5% of all the advertised slots are reserved for the recruitment of teachers with disabilities in accordance to the provisions of Constitution and the Law.
xvi) In the event of a tie, consideration for selection will be determined as per the order of priority shown hereunder: –
a) Length of Stay since graduation;
b) Strength of academic and professional certificates presented.
N/B: If applicants tie at aggregate grades, subject grades shall be considered
xvii) The names of interviewed applicants ranked in order of performance in the selection process for each vacancy (Appendix iii) shall be submitted to the Commission by the TSC County Director together with successful applicants’ recruitment documents.
xviii) Preference shall be given to applicants who have never been employed by the Teachers Service Commission.
xix) Preference shall also be given to applicants hailing from the respective SubCounties/Counties.
xx) Any Application for Employment form filled or Offer of Employment issued based on misleading information provided by the applicant shall be cancelled immediately without any further reference to them.
xxi) During the interview, the TSC Sub-County Director shall develop Sub-County Merit Lists.
The Merit List shall be used in the subsequent recruitment processes involving a similar vacancy in the Sub-County within the financial year or as directed by the Commission from time to time.
xxii) The TSC-Sub-County Director shall submit the Sub-County Merit Lists to the TSC County Director.
xxiii) The TSC County Director shall compile County Merit Lists. This data bank shall be used to recruit teachers in the county within the financial year or as directed by the Commission.
xxiv) The TSC County Director shall then submit the County Merit Lists to the Regional Director who in turn shall compile the Regional Merit Lists. This data bank shall be used to recruit teacher in the Region within the financial year or as it may be directed by the Commission. The Regional Director will forward the Regional Merit Lists to the Director Staffing. This data bank of interviewed candidates shall be used to recruit those exiting service within the Financial Year or as it may be directed by the Commission.
xxv) Where candidates are exhausted from the subject specific county data bank, replacement shall be done using the regional data bank. Where the data bank is exhausted within a region, vacancies shall be filled using the National Merit Lists from the national data bank or as it may be directed by the Commission.
2.0. AUTHENTICATION OF ACADEMIC, PROFESSIONAL AND OTHER RELATED DOCUMENTS
i) Applicants must present original and legible photocopies of the following documents: –
a) National identification card;
b) Certificate of Registration as a teacher;
c) Diploma/Degree certificate and accompanying transcripts;
d) KCSE certificates or its equivalent (include certificates for attempts if one resat exams);
e) KCPE certificate or its equivalent (include certificates for attempts if one resat exams);
f) Letter of certification of results by KNEC (where applicable);
g) Primary and Secondary School leaving certificates and other relevant
testimonials;
h) National Council of Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) Card (where applicable);
i) An Affidavit sworn under the Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act, Cap 15 of the Laws of Kenya to explain the variance in names.
NB: Provisional transcript(s) shall not be accepted.
ii) The selection panel shall verify that: –
a) The applicant meets the requirements stipulated in the TSC advertisement;
b) All submitted original academic and professional certificates, as well as official transcripts are authentic.
iii) Any applicant(s) who present forged/fake academic, professional and other documents commit(s) an offence and shall be disqualified and/or deregistered.
iv) The TSC Sub-County Director shall certify photocopies of the certificates and confirm they are true copies of the applicant’s original academic and professional certificates prior to the interview.
v) Once the interview process is completed, a vacancy specific Merit List based on the interview results shall be compiled and communicated to all applicants at the end of interview exercise.
vi) It is the responsibility of the TSC County Director and the TSC Sub-County Directors to ensure that the:
a) Exercise is fair and transparent;
b) The Selection Panels are satisfactorily sensitized on the recruitment process;
c) The interviews are conducted as stipulated in these guidelines and any other circulars applicable to the process;
d) Only the successful applicant(s) on the Merit List are employed.
vii) The TSC Sub County Director should ensure that successful applicant(s) from the Merit List is/are issued with Application for Employment forms to fill.
viii) All the relevant recruitment documents shall be submitted to the TSC County Director’s office by the TSC Sub-County Director. The TSC County Directors shall convene a County Selection Panel. The panel shall conduct verification of the documents and ensure that all the requirements are met by the successful applicants before issuing duly signed Offer of Employment Letters and submitting the recruitment documents (as per the approved checklist) to the TSC Headquarters within the stipulated timelines.
3.0 SELECTION PANEL FOR INSTITUTIONS WITH BOMs
(a) Chairperson, Board of Management – Chairperson
(b) Head of the Institution – Secretary
(c) Subject Specialist – Member
(d) Parent Association (PA) Chairperson – Member
(e) TSC County Director/ Representative – Member
TOTAL 5 _
3.1 SELECTION PANEL FOR SCHOOLS WITHOUT BOMs
(a) TSC County Director/ Representative – Chairperson
(b) Head of the Institution – Secretary
(c) Subject Specialist – Member
(d) PA Chairperson – Member
(e) PA Member – Member
TOTAL 5_
3.2 SELECTION PANEL FOR JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS
(a) TSC Sub County Director – Chairperson
(b) TSC Sub County Human Resource Officer – Secretary
(c) Curriculum Support Officer/ Subject Specialist – Member
TOTAL 3_
N/B: The TSC Sub-County Director shall ensure that the Selection Panel is well sensitized to conduct the interview within the COVID-19 containment measures as set by the Ministry of Health or any other pandemic as may advised by the Ministry of Health from time to time.
4.0 SELECTION CRITERIA
i) The TSC Sub-County Director shall provide the selection panel with a list of all applicants as received from the TSC County Director.
ii) The selection panel shall interview only those who meet the set criteria. The TSC SubCounty Director should note any inconsistency (ies), adhere to the guidelines and guide the applicants /selection panel and the Commission accordingly.
iii) Applicants shall appear in person before the selection panel. The selection panel shall score each applicant based on the selection score guide (Appendices 1 (a) or 1 (b))
NB. An applicant with disabilities related to hearing and/or speech shall be allowed the company of a sign language interpreter.
5.0 QUALIFICATIONS
5.1. Graduate Teachers
Applicants must have a minimum mean grade of C+ (plus) at KCSE and C+ (plus) in each of the two teaching subjects or two (2) Principles and one (1) Subsidiary pass at ‘A’ Level. In addition, they must have either:
(a) A Bachelor of Education Degree with two (2) teaching subjects or,
(b) A Bachelor of Science or Arts Degree plus a Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) with two teaching subjects or,
(c) Bachelor of Science with Education/Bachelor of Arts with Education with two teaching subjects or,
(d) Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education and Extension with two teaching subjects.
N.B: Applicants with the following qualifications are also eligible;
i) Bachelor of Education holders with a mean grade of C Plain and C Plain in the two teaching subjects at KCSE and have undertaken a Diploma in Education or those who obtained a Mean Grade C (Plain) at KCSE and C (Plain) in the subjects of study at A-Level and obtained at least 1 Principle and 2 Subsidiaries for Sciences, 2 Principles and 1 Subsidiary for Arts prior to undertaking a Bachelor of Education Degree
ii) Diploma in Education Holders with a Mean Grade of C+ (Plus) and C+ (Plus) in the two teaching subjects at KCSE and have undertaken a Bachelors of Education Degree.
iii) Bridging/Pre-university certificates for those who completed the course before December 31st, 2015 are considered.
5.2. Diploma Teachers
Applicants must have a minimum Mean Grade of C+ (Plus) at KCSE or its equivalent with at least C+(plus) (or Credit pass) in the two teaching subjects or one (1) Principle and two (2) Subsidiaries at ‘A’ level. In addition, they must have: a Diploma in Education from a recognized Teacher Training Institution with at least C+ (Plus) in the two teaching subjects.
N.B:
a) Diploma Teachers who graduated in 2008 or before with a mean grade of C (plain) and C (plain) in the two teaching subjects are eligible
b) Hearing and visually impaired teachers who enrolled for training with Mean Grade of C (Plain) and C (Plain) in the two teaching subjects are eligible.
5.3. Technical Teachers
Applicants must have a minimum Mean Grade of C+ (Plus) at KCSE or its equivalent with at least C+ (Plus) in the two teaching subjects or one (1) Principle and two (2) Subsidiaries at ‘A’-Level in subjects studied. In addition, they must have either:
i) Bachelor of Education Technology (BeD TECH); or,
ii) Bachelor of Science (BSc) in any relevant technical Subject (s) /Course; or
iii) Higher Diploma in a technical course; or
iv) A Diploma in a technical course.
Further, applicants under category (ii) above MUST possess a Diploma in Technical Teacher Education from Kenya Technical Trainers College (KTTC), previously known as Kenya Technical Teachers College.
N.B:
1) Applicants whose training is in subjects that are currently not in the Secondary School Curriculum do not qualify, irrespective of their having undertaken a Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) and/or enhancement. This category includes but is not limited to Bachelor of Science /Bachelor of Arts in:
- Natural Resources – Horticulture – Fisheries
- Meteorology – Farm Machinery – Anthropology
- Forestry – Sociology – Biotechnology
- Animal Husbandry – Journalism – Theology / Divinity
2) Applicants with Economics/Commerce/Accounting can apply for Business Studies and those with Social Education and Ethics (SEE) can apply for CRE/IRE.
3) Diploma Teachers with English/other subjects qualify for employment as teachers of
English/Literature on condition that they have adequate units in both Language and
Literature.
5) All applicants must have studied the two teaching subjects at KCSE except for Agriculture, Business Studies, Home Science, and Computer Studies. For those who did not study Business Studies and Computer Studies, one should have attained a minimum of C+ (Plus) in Mathematics at KCSE. For those who did not study Agriculture and Home Science, one should have attained a minimum of C+ in Biology at KCSE.
6) Graduate Teachers should have studied a minimum of eight (8) course units in each teaching subject. In addition, the teachers must have studied Special Methods in their two teaching subjects of choice together with a minimum of three (3) months teaching practice.
7) Enhancement certificate(s) and transcripts shall only apply where an applicant had not covered the minimum number of units during the degree/ diploma programme.
8) Applicants who chose to study a third subject must ensure that they have studied all the units in the chosen subject as offered by the selected institution for four years of study together with special methods and teaching practice. In addition, there should be evidence that the applicants have covered the approved credit hours for the course.
8) Applicants previously employed under contract and whose services were terminated due to inadequate units in teaching subjects and have since obtained enhancement certificates with adequate units are eligible to apply.
9) Kenya Sign Language (KSL) and Braille are considered as teaching subjects in Special Needs Education e.g. Biology/KSL and Geography/Braille.
6.0 VALIDATION OF DOCUMENTS BY THE TSC COUNTY DIRECTOR
The TSC County Directors should: –
i. Ensure that the recruitment documents have all the attachments required as provided for in the approved checklist/s;
ii. Vet the recruitment documents to verify that the applicant(s) recruited qualify for employed as a teacher as per the provisions of the recruitment guidelines;
iii. Ensure that all documents are duly signed as required; including the score sheets, Minutes of the Selection Panels, confirming that the candidate qualifies/merits to be engaged as a teacher intern;
iv. Compile complaints received and submit appropriate action taken or recommendations to the Commission.
7.0 DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE TSC HEADQUARTERS
The TSC County Director is required to hand over the following documents to the TSC Headquarters:
i) Duly signed file copy of the Offer of Employment letter together with:
a) Certified copies of:
• National Identification Card;
• Certificate of Registration as a teacher;
• Academic certificates;
• Professional certificates and all official transcripts;
• Letter of Certification of results by KNEC (where applicable);
• NCPWD Card (where applicable);
• An Affidavit sworn under the Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act, Cap. 15 of the Laws of Kenya to explain the variance in names (where applicable);
• Bank plate/Card (front face);
• KRA PIN Certificate;
• NHIF Card.
b) Two (2) passport size colour photographs in respect of successful applicant(s);
c) Original Medical Examination report in form GP 69.
ii) A list of all interviewed applicants in order of merit for the advertised vacancies in (Appendix (III a);
iii) A copy of the system generated list of all applicants clearly showing those who failed to attend the interview; (Appendix III b);
iv) List of applicants with disabilities; (Appendix VI);
v) Duly signed Minutes of the Selection Panel and the Sub-County Selection Panel;
vi) Completed selection score guide duly signed;
vii) Duly completed pay point particulars form.
8.0 COMPLAINTS
i) Any applicant who is dissatisfied with the process should submit to the TSC County Director a written complaint immediately and send an email to the TSC Headquarters through email address: dirstaffing@tsc.go.ke not later than seven (7) days after the selection process;
ii) The TSC County Director should within seven (7) days analyze and address all complaints raised after the selection process has been completed and promptly inform the Headquarters on the action taken;
iii) Where an applicant is dissatisfied with the decision of the TSC County Director in (ii) above, or where the complaint is made against the TSC County Director, the applicant shall appeal to the Appeals Committee on staffing functions at the TSC Headquarters. The Appeals Committee shall investigate the allegations and take appropriate action within fourteen (14) days.
9.0 IMPORTANT NOTES
i) Clarification and advice on issues of qualifications arising from these guidelines, should be sought from the TSC County Directors.
ii) Notwithstanding the decentralization of the function of teacher recruitment pursuant to Section 20 of the TSC Act, the Commission is not precluded in carrying out recruitment directly from the TSC Headquarters.
iii) The TSC Regional Directors shall:
Ensure guidelines are adhered to within their regions;
a) Coordinate the teacher recruitment process within their respective regions;
b) Sensitize County Directors and oversee the sensitization of other officers including members of the Selection Panels involved in the process;
c) Ratify the Merit Lists for use during recruitment;
d) Shall undertake measures to resolve complaints arising from the process within their regions.
Attached find the following Appendices for use during the selection exercise
Appendix I: a) Selection Score Guide for Post Primary Institution Teachers
b) Selection Score Guide for Post Primary Institution teachers with
disabilities
c) Grading System
Appendix II: Board of Management and TSC Checklists
Appendix III a: List of interviewed applicants.
Appendix III b: List of all applicants clearly showing those who never turned up for interview
Appendix IV: Declaration Form I
Appendix V: Declaration Form II
Appendix VI: List of applicants with disabilities