The Teachers Service Service (TSC) has ended promotion of practising P1 teachers which involves deploying them to teach in high school upon successful graduation at the university.
“The deployment were concluded and letters for successful candidates communicated through the County Directors. Those without deployment letters should consider themselves unsuccessful. Kindly liase with your County Directors office,” TSC replied after inquiry for more deployment letters by a teacher.
TSC advertised 1,000 deployment posts in 2019 and another 1,000 in September last year.
The 2,000 posts were primarily reserved for practising P1 teachers with degree and C+ at KCSE to teach in high school.
The teachers were also required to have scored a C+ in the two teaching subjects.
The applications were done online through a portal provided by the employer.
TSC deployed graduate primary school teachers both with Science and Art subjects combinations.
Those deployed will start at job grade C2 at salary scale 34,955 per month and will move to job grade C3 upon completion of three years as stipulated in Career Progression Guidelines for teachers (CPG).
The issue of teacher promotion has been a hot potatoe at times ending bitterly in a labour court.
For many years the Commission has been blamed by primary school teachers for failing to promote them after acquiring higher academic qualification.
TSC stopped promotion of teachers based on papers early January 2014 and this led to disquiet among the primary school teachers.
Most of those who submitted their papers to the Commission only received acknowledgement letters but waited for promotion in vain.
TSC changed the promotion of teachers after it developed the Career Progression Guidelines (CPG) immediately after signing of the CBA 2017 – 2021 between it and the teachers unions.
However TSC changed tack and embarked on promotion of primary school teachers with degrees.
Inside sources say TSC is planning, in due time, to post all the qualified and deserving P1 teachers to secondary school to help plug shortage brought about by 100% transition and the looming double intake in 2023.
Already there are plans to deploy at least 3,000 P1 graduates in 2022. This means teachers who missed a chance to teach in high school can join other deployed tutors next year.
TSC database shows that at least 6,347 primary school teachers have degree with C+ at KCSE and C+ in the two teaching subjects hence qualify to teach in secondary school.
TSC said it has promoted16,152 teachers following successful interviews conducted in December 2020 and February 2021.
The interviews are part of the final phase of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that has been implemented since July 201 7.
The details of the positions that have been filled are as listed below;
| S/No. | Position | Advert No. | Scale |
| 1. | Deputy Principal I | 5/2020 | 13 (D3) |
| 2. | Deputy Principal II | 6/2020 | 12 (D2) |
| 3. | Senior Lecturer I | 7/2020 | 12 (D2) |
| 4. | Deputy Principal III | 8/2020 | 11 (D1) |
| 5. | Curriculum Dupport Officers | 9/2020 | 10 (C5) |
| 6. | Headteachers | 10/2020 | 10 (C5) |
| 7. | Senior Master IV | 11/2020 | 9 (C4) |
| 8. | Deputy Headteacher II | 12/2020 | 9 (C4) |
| 9. | Senior Lecturer IV | 13/2020 | 9 (C4) |
| 10. | Senior Master IV | 14/2020 | 9 (C4) |
| 11. | Advert Nos. 14/2019 to 35/2019 1) Headteachers and Deputy Headteacher II serving under Career Progression Guidelines for teachers (Re-advertisement) 2) Secondary Teacher I (C3/T-Scale 8) for teachers serving under Career Progression Guidelines 3) Positions for Secondary Teacher I & II, Senior Master, Deputy Principal, Primary Teacher I, Senior Teacher, Deputy Headteacher and Headteachers for teachers serving under Career Progression Guidelines in Asal areas |
When TSC CEO Nancy Macharia was invited for a session in Parliament in 2019 the MPs proposed the need to develop a policy on the promotion of teachers who have attained the required qualifications to head institutions.
They emphasized that fairness must be key in all promotion exercises.
The committee members expressed concern over the duration some deputy principals have served as acting head-teachers and asked TSC to determine a maximum period for such cases.
The MPs also raised concern over the transfer of teachers, especially school principals and head-teachers.
Citing multiple schools in their constituencies that have experienced a great turnover at the administration level, the MPs said the transfers affect operation of the schools.
Macharia, however, said that all vacancies are filled competitively with the objective to promote national values, fairness, non-discrimination and equity.
“The criteria used in promotion of teachers include the availability of budget/funds; the existence of vacancies in the authorized establishment; merit and ability as reflected in the teacher’s work performance; academic and professional qualification among others,” she said.
However most teachers say the deployment was just a drop in the ocean as more qualified teachers have been locked out.