TSC Calls on Teachers to Register for World Teachers’ Day Marathon as Nomination Process for Prestigious Teacher Awards Nears Its Climax
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has issued a call to all teachers across the country to register for the World Teachers’ Day Marathon, an event that will bring together educators from all eight TSC regions in a show of unity, fitness, and celebration as the country marks this year’s World Teachers’ Day.
The Commission has set Tuesday next week as the deadline for registration, giving interested teachers only a short window to sign up before the exercise closes.
This year’s marathon comes at a particularly significant moment for the teaching profession in Kenya, coinciding with an elaborate nationwide recognition and awards process that has, since August, been identifying and honouring teachers who have made outstanding contributions to education.
As teachers line up to register for the marathon, hundreds of their colleagues are simultaneously attending interviews as part of the final stages of the World Teachers’ Day Awards selection process — a coincidence of timing that underscores just how central this year’s World Teachers’ Day celebrations are to recognising the Kenyan teacher’s role in nation-building.
The Marathon: Date, Venue and Registration Details
According to the notice released by the Commission, the Teachers Marathon will be held on Sunday, 27th September 2026, starting promptly at 6:00 a.m., and will be conducted simultaneously across all eight TSC regions in the country.
This means teachers will not need to travel to a single national venue; rather, each region will host its own marathon event, allowing for wider participation and reducing the logistical burden on teachers who might otherwise have had to travel long distances.
The marathon will feature two distance categories — a 10 km race and a 5 km race — giving teachers the flexibility to choose the distance that best matches their fitness level and personal preference.
This dual-category structure is designed to be inclusive, ensuring that both seasoned runners and first-time participants can take part comfortably.
To register, interested teachers are required to visit the official registration portal at https://tsconline.tsc.go.ke/marathon.
The registration process has been designed to be straightforward but secure. Teachers will be required to:
- Enter their TSC Number.
- Enter their National ID or Passport Number.
- Wait for a One-Time Password (OTP) to be sent to their registered Mwalimu email address.
- Enter the OTP to log in.
- Proceed to complete the registration form.
This verification process, anchored on the TSC Number and the Mwalimu email address, ensures that only bona fide registered teachers are able to sign up for the event, and it mirrors the kind of secure, digital-first approach the Commission has increasingly adopted for its services in recent years.
Teachers have been reminded that the registration window is time-bound. TSC opened the registration portal for the World Teachers’ Day Marathon, and it closes on Tuesday next week, meaning that teachers who are interested in taking part must act promptly.
Given the significance of the event, and the fact that participation is open to teachers across all cadres and levels — from Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) to Teacher Training Colleges — the Commission is expecting considerable interest, and slots may fill up quickly in each region.
“Your participation will be highly appreciated as we come together to celebrate and honour our teachers during this year’s World Teachers’ Day,” TSC said in the notice announcing the marathon.
Why a Marathon? Linking Physical Wellness to Professional Celebration
The decision to incorporate a marathon into this year’s World Teachers’ Day celebrations reflects a growing recognition, both globally and locally, of the connection between physical wellness and professional productivity.
Teaching is widely regarded as one of the more demanding professions — not just intellectually and emotionally, but physically as well, given the long hours spent standing, walking between classrooms, and managing the day-to-day realities of a busy school environment.
By organising a marathon as part of the World Teachers’ Day festivities, the Commission is sending a clear message: that teacher wellness matters, and that celebrating teachers should extend beyond ceremonies and speeches to activities that promote camaraderie, health, and team spirit among educators.
The choice of two distance categories, 5 km and 10 km, also reflects sensitivity to the diverse fitness levels within the teaching workforce, ensuring that the event remains accessible and enjoyable rather than intimidating.
Moreover, holding the marathon across all eight regions rather than centralising it in Nairobi means that teachers in Coast, North Eastern, Eastern, Central, Rift Valley, Western, and Nyanza will all get an equal opportunity to participate close to home, in the company of colleagues they interact with daily.
This decentralised model is likely to boost turnout and foster a stronger sense of regional identity and pride in the celebrations.
World Teachers’ Day: A Global Celebration, A National Moment
World Teachers’ Day is celebrated globally on 5th October every year. The day was established to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, a landmark document that set out benchmarks regarding teachers’ rights and responsibilities, and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions.
Each year, countries around the world use the day to reflect on the state of the teaching profession, celebrate the achievements of educators, and advocate for better support for teachers.
In Kenya, World Teachers’ Day has, over the years, grown into a major national event, with the Teachers Service Commission at the forefront of organising celebrations that honour the country’s more than one million registered teachers, over 415,000 of whom are directly employed by the Commission as at June 2026.
This year’s celebrations are themed “Twawaenzi Walimu — Mashujaa Wetu”, loosely translated as “We Honour Our Teachers — Our Heroes,” a theme that captures the spirit of appreciation running through both the marathon and the parallel awards process currently underway.
The Bigger Picture: A Nationwide Search for Kenya’s Most Outstanding Teachers
While the marathon has captured public attention as a fun, participatory activity ahead of World Teachers’ Day, it is only one part of a much larger and more elaborate recognition programme that TSC has been running since August.
Under a circular issued earlier this year, the Commission launched the World Teachers’ Day 2026 Rewards and Recognition Framework, a structured nomination and selection process designed to identify and celebrate teachers who have demonstrated outstanding contributions to teaching and learning across the country.
The nomination window for these awards closed on 26th August 2026, and since then, the process has moved through several rigorous stages of vetting, shortlisting, and verification.
As things stand, teachers who were successfully shortlisted are now attending interviews as part of the final stages of selecting this year’s World Teachers’ Day award winners — interviews that will determine who ultimately receives recognition at the Sub-County, County, Regional, and National levels.
Why the Awards Framework Matters
The rationale behind the awards framework is captured clearly in the circular that guided the nomination process. It notes that education remains one of the most important foundations for national development, social transformation, and the realisation of Kenya’s human capital aspirations, and that at the centre of this transformation is the teacher, whose work shapes learner achievement, values formation, innovation, skills development, and the overall quality of education.
The circular also traces the Commission’s own history, noting that TSC was established in July 1967 to give teachers one employer and uniform terms and conditions of service, and was later elevated to a Constitutional Commission under Article 237 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010.
Since then, the number of registered teachers has grown from 37,000 in 1967 to over one million today, a testament to the expansion of Kenya’s education sector and the increasingly central role teachers play in national life.
The purpose of the 2026 Rewards and Recognition Framework, as outlined in the circular, is to identify, recognise, and celebrate teachers — including institutional administrators — who have demonstrated outstanding contributions to teaching and learning, while promoting excellence, innovation, inclusivity, resilience, leadership, and professional commitment across all levels of education.
Who Was Eligible to Be Nominated
Nominations were open to registered teachers currently in service, as well as retired teachers who have made demonstrable contributions to teaching and learning.
Eligible nominees could be drawn from public, private, and international learning institutions, spanning primary schools, junior schools, secondary/senior schools, and Teacher Training Colleges.
To qualify for any award category, nominees needed to meet general eligibility criteria, including being a registered teacher (in-service or retired), having served in a recognised learning institution in Kenya, being directly responsible for the achievement or contribution for which they were nominated, and demonstrating contribution beyond the routine performance of duty.
Nominees were also required to provide verifiable evidence of their contribution and impact — ranging from institutional records and learner outcomes to testimonials, certificates, and photographs — and could only be nominated under a maximum of two award categories.
The Award Categories
The circular set out an impressively broad range of award categories, reflecting the diversity of ways in which teachers contribute to the education sector. These included:
Lifetime Achievement Award — for veteran educators with at least 20 years of teaching experience who have made long-term, transformative contributions to education.
Early Years Educator Award — recognising excellence in teaching at the lower primary level (Grade 1–3), particularly in fostering foundational literacy, numeracy, and holistic child development.
Sustainable Development Educator Award — honouring teachers who have championed environmental conservation, climate action, and sustainability initiatives within their schools and communities.
Early Career Educator Award — for teachers with five years or less of experience who have shown exceptional promise, innovation, and early impact.
School Leadership Excellence Award — recognising heads of institutions, deputy heads, and other administrators who have driven school improvement and teacher professional development.
Inclusive Educator Award — honouring teachers who promote equitable learning opportunities for marginalised learners, as well as teachers living with disability who have demonstrated outstanding performance.
Child Protection Champion Award — for teachers who have actively promoted child safety, safeguarding, and protection within their schools.
Co-curricular and Talent Development Award — recognising teachers who have nurtured learner talent in sports, music, drama, and other co-curricular pursuits.
Teacher Mentor Award — honouring those who have trained, mentored, and supported fellow educators.
Innovation and ICT Integration in Teaching Award — for teachers who have demonstrated excellence in the use of digital technologies, STEM approaches, and competency-based strategies.
Most Resilient Teacher Award — recognising educators who have continued to make a positive impact despite significant personal or professional adversity.
National Honours Award — for teachers who received national or presidential recognition in 2025 or 2026.
International Recognition Award — for teachers honoured internationally, for example through the Global Teacher Prize or similar accolades.
This wide spread of categories illustrates just how comprehensive the Commission’s approach to recognising teachers has been this year, capturing everything from classroom innovation to leadership, resilience, and international acclaim.
How Nominations Were Submitted
Nominations could be made through self-nomination, peer nomination, or institutional nomination by the head of an institution.
Individuals self-nominating were allowed to apply in a maximum of two categories, while peer or institutional nominators could submit a maximum of two nominees.
Nominations were submitted through region-specific online links corresponding to the nominee’s respective TSC region — Coast, North Eastern, Eastern, Nairobi, Central, Upper Rift Valley, Lower Rift Valley, Western, and Nyanza — with retired teachers nominated through the sub-county where they last served. All nominations were due by 26th August 2026 at 11:00 p.m.
From Nomination to National Recognition: A Multi-Level Selection Process
Once the nomination window closed, the Commission set in motion a carefully sequenced evaluation and selection process, moving from the grassroots to the national level. According to the timelines outlined in the circular:
Between 27th and 29th August 2026, the Recognition and Awards Sub-Committee conducted an eligibility check, producing a longlist of nominees who met both the general and category-specific criteria.
Between 30th August and 3rd September 2026, Sub-County Selection Panels reviewed the longlist and produced a shortlist and merit list, ultimately selecting nominees for Sub-County awards.
Between 4th and 8th September 2026, County Selection Panels took over, shortlisting nominees, verifying evidence submitted, and selecting county-level awardees.
Between 9th and 10th September 2026, Regional Panels carried out further shortlisting and verification, producing the list of nominees to be awarded per region during TSC Open Day celebrations — this is the stage many teachers are currently navigating through interviews.
On 11th September 2026, the Recognition and Awards Sub-Committee is expected to finalise the list of national awardees — the best three in each category — for recognition during the World Teachers’ Day celebrations.
This means that even as teachers register for the marathon this week, the awards process is entering its final and most decisive phase, with regional panels working to confirm the teachers who will proceed to national recognition.
The Scale of Recognition
The scale of this year’s recognition effort is considerable. According to the circular, awards will be given out at four levels — Sub-County, County, Region, and National — with a combined total of 16,071 award slots across all levels and eleven award categories.
At the Sub-County level alone, 13,728 teachers are expected to receive recognition, from whom County, Regional, and National awardees will subsequently be progressively selected.
This tiered structure ensures that recognition is not concentrated only at the top but is felt widely across the country, honouring teachers at the community level before the best among them advance to higher stages of recognition.
Selection panels at each level have been carefully constituted to ensure fairness and representation. Sub-County panels, for instance, are chaired by the TSC Sub-County Director and include representatives from the Sub-County Directorate of Education, Curriculum Support Officers, and representatives of teacher associations and stakeholder bodies such as KESHA, KEPSA, KNUT, KUPPET, and KUSNET.
Similar multi-stakeholder representation is maintained at the County and Regional levels, reinforcing the transparency and credibility of the process.
A Commitment to Inclusivity and Data Protection
The circular also placed strong emphasis on inclusivity, specifically encouraging the nomination of teachers with disabilities who have demonstrated outstanding commitment, innovation, and leadership in their work.
Nominators were urged to consider and recognise exceptional achievements by teachers with disabilities across all eligible award categories.
On the matter of privacy, the Commission committed to processing personal data collected during the nomination process lawfully, fairly, and transparently, and only for purposes connected to the nomination, evaluation, and selection process.
Nomination records are to be retained only as long as necessary and securely disposed of thereafter, in line with the Data Protection Act.
Two Celebrations, One Spirit
Taken together, the marathon and the awards process paint a picture of a Commission determined to make this year’s World Teachers’ Day celebrations both participatory and meaningful.
While the awards framework honours individual excellence through a rigorous, evidence-based selection process stretching from the sub-county to the national level, the marathon offers a more communal, celebratory outlet — an opportunity for teachers across the country, regardless of whether they are up for an award, to come together, get active, and mark the occasion as one profession, united in purpose.
As the marathon registration deadline approaches this coming Tuesday, and as regional panels finalise interviews for award nominees, all signs point to a World Teachers’ Day 2026 celebration that will be one of the most elaborate in recent years — one that, true to this year’s theme, truly seeks to honour Kenya’s teachers as the heroes they are.
Teachers who wish to take part in the marathon are encouraged to register promptly at https://tsconline.tsc.go.ke/marathon before the window closes, using their TSC Number, National ID or Passport Number, and their Mwalimu email for OTP verification, to secure their place in this historic celebration of the teaching profession.
