TSC Hosts 136 New Secretariat Staff for Induction Training Amid Calls for Transparency in Recruitment
Nairobi, September 3 — The Teachers Service Commission (TSC), led by acting Chief Executive Officer Evaleen Mitei, has in collaboration with the Kenya School of Government (KSG) hosted a cohort of up to 136 newly employed secretariat staff for an induction training program designed for public service employees.
The training, which began earlier in the week at KSG’s Lower Kabete campus in Nairobi, comes at a time when the Commission is facing mounting pressure from teachers across the country to be more transparent about how it recruits, appoints and promotes members of its Secretariat.
The cohort undergoing induction comprises Assistant Directors, Principal Teacher Management Officers drawn from the teaching service, and Senior Management Officers.
According to TSC, the newly recruited officers were brought on board through a competitive process earlier this year.
However, that claim has done little to quell growing public scrutiny, as questions continue to be raised about the fairness and openness of the process that led to their selection.
Mitei Graces Day Three of Training
Ms. Mitei personally attended day three of the ongoing induction program, which is expected to run throughout the week.
During her visit, she warmly congratulated the newly recruited officers and affirmed that the primary objective of the program is to adequately prepare them for the responsibilities that come with their new roles within the Commission.
The induction is structured to orient the officers on public service standards, institutional expectations and the operational demands of their respective positions, whether in administration, teacher management or senior secretariat functions.
For an organization as large and consequential as the TSC — which is responsible for the management of hundreds of thousands of teachers nationwide — the capacity and competence of its secretariat staff has a direct bearing on service delivery to teachers and, by extension, to learners across the country.
Yet even as the Commission moves to formally induct its newest staff members, the timing has placed a spotlight on unresolved questions about how those same individuals came to be selected for their positions in the first place.
Background: Teachers Demand Clarity on Recruitment Criteria
In early August, the Teachers Service Commission found itself under pressure from teachers who called on it to publicly and clearly explain the academic and professional qualifications it considers when appointing and promoting secretariat staff.
Teachers across the country hold qualifications ranging from PhDs, Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees to Diplomas and Primary Teacher Education certificates. Many have raised concerns over the criteria TSC uses in the recruitment, promotion and progression of its Secretariat staff.
It is therefore important for the Commission to clearly explain the qualifications and criteria used to determine who is eligible for appointment, promotion and career progression within the Secretariat.
Without such clarity, they contended, it becomes difficult for the wider teaching fraternity to trust that appointments are being made on a level and consistent playing field.
Specific Demands for Disclosure
Beyond a general call for clarity, teachers have been specific about the kind of information they want TSC to make public — subject, of course, to applicable privacy and data-protection requirements. Among the details being demanded are:
- The academic and professional qualifications relevant to the positions in question;
- The colleges and universities from which successful candidates graduated;
- The years in which the relevant qualifications were obtained;
- The dates or years when the individuals concerned joined the teaching service or were first employed by TSC;
- Their previous positions and grades prior to the recent appointments or promotions;
- The dates and periods during which they served in each grade;
- The criteria used to determine their eligibility for the recent appointments or promotions; and
- Where applicable, the specific vacancies or positions against which the appointments and promotions were made.
Teachers say this information is not being sought out of idle curiosity, but because it would help them understand whether the same principles of merit, experience, academic qualification and fair competition are being applied consistently across the board — or whether some candidates may have been favoured over others through opaque processes.
TSC’s Own Stated Principles Under the Spotlight
What has sharpened the criticism is that the demands being made of TSC are, in essence, drawn directly from the Commission’s own stated policy commitments.
TSC has consistently maintained that its appointment and deployment policies are intended to establish clear academic and professional requirements and to ensure that positions within the organization are competitively filled.
The Commission also lists fair competition, merit, transparency and accountability among its core guiding principles.
It is precisely because TSC has publicly committed to these principles that teachers are now asking the Commission to demonstrate, through concrete and verifiable evidence, that they are being upheld in practice.
Teachers have been at pains to clarify that they are not seeking preferential treatment for any individual or group, nor are they attempting to discredit officers who may hold lower academic qualifications but substantial experience.
Rather, their concern is centred on clarity, fairness and accountability — values they argue should apply uniformly, regardless of whether an officer holds a PhD, a Master’s degree, a Bachelor’s degree, a Diploma or a P1 certificate.
Calls for Published, Verifiable Criteria
Teachers and other stakeholders following the matter have renewed calls for the Commission to publish clear and verifiable criteria governing Secretariat appointments and promotions.
They argue that TSC should be able to demonstrate, with supporting documentation and process records, that recent appointment and promotion decisions were arrived at strictly on the basis of qualifications, relevant experience, performance and established procedures — rather than on informal or discretionary considerations that lack a documented basis.
The underlying argument advanced by critics is a simple one: transparency builds confidence. In an institution responsible for managing the careers of teachers across all 47 counties, perceptions of favouritism or inconsistency in how Secretariat staff are recruited and elevated can erode trust not just in individual decisions, but in the Commission’s broader institutional credibility.
Equal rules, they insist, should apply to all teachers and to all TSC employees alike, irrespective of rank or department.
As of the time of this induction program, TSC has not issued a comprehensive public breakdown addressing each of the specific disclosure points raised by teachers in August, even as it presses ahead with formally onboarding the very officers whose recruitment has come under scrutiny.
Courtesy Call to KSG Leadership
Away from the transparency debate, Wednesday’s visit to Lower Kabete also included an institutional dimension.
Ms. Mitei paid a courtesy call on the Director General of the Kenya School of Government, Prof. Nura Mohamed. She was accompanied during the visit by the KSG Lower Kabete Campus Director, Andrew Rori.
During the courtesy call, the two sides expressed mutual gratitude for what they described as a long-standing and productive collaborative relationship between their respective institutions.
Both TSC and KSG underscored their continued commitment to supporting one another going forward, particularly in areas such as capacity building and the professional development of public service personnel — an area in which KSG, as the country’s premier public service training institution, plays a central role.
The Kenya School of Government has for years served as a key training partner for numerous state agencies and commissions, including TSC, offering structured induction and leadership development programs intended to align new public officers with the values, ethics and operational standards expected across Kenya’s public service.
The Road Ahead
As the induction program for the 136 new secretariat officers continues through the rest of the week at KSG’s Lower Kabete campus, attention is likely to remain split between two parallel narratives: the Commission’s effort to professionally onboard its newest staff, and the still-unanswered questions from teachers regarding how those staff came to be selected in the first place.
For many teachers watching from classrooms across the country, the resolution of this matter is not simply an administrative or bureaucratic issue — it speaks to broader questions of fairness within an institution that itself sets and enforces standards of merit and qualification for the teaching profession at large.
Whether TSC will respond with the level of public disclosure being demanded remains to be seen, but the pressure for greater openness around Secretariat recruitment shows no sign of easing.