The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has announced that it will begin issuing promotion letters in April 2025 to teachers who successfully passed the promotion interviews conducted in January and February this year. Teachers who did not qualify will receive regret letters.
A list of promoted teachers will be published on the official TSC website. The promotion interviews for post-primary school teachers commenced on January 27 and concluded on February 6, 2025. These institutions include Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) and secondary schools. Meanwhile, primary school teacher interviews took place between January 13 and January 23, 2025.
TSC had advertised 25,288 promotion slots, covering both primary and post-primary institutions. Initially, the Commission announced 5,690 positions for school administrators through Advert 1 to 4 of 2024, which was open from November 12 to 18, 2024. Later, on December 17, 2024, an additional 19,943 vacancies were advertised for teachers from job group C1 to D3 to apply online. Out of these, 16,109 slots were allocated to primary schools, while 9,179 positions were designated for post-primary institutions.
This year’s promotion cycle saw an overwhelming response, mirroring last year’s high participation. TSC reported that 189,000 teachers applied for promotions, with 96,640 applications coming from primary school teachers and 44,043 from post-primary school teachers.
A Unique Promotion Interview Process
Unlike previous years, this year’s promotion interviews did not involve any oral questioning. Instead, the interview panels, which included Sub County Directors, Human Resource Officers, and Curriculum Support Officers, focused primarily on document verification. Teachers were required to present their identification documents, academic certificates, and other relevant documents for validation.
Promotion Criteria and Scoring System
The promotion process heavily favored experienced teachers, particularly those aged 45 and above. The TSC promotion scoresheet allocated points based on various factors, including age, academic qualifications, length of service, TPAD ratings, and other relevant criteria. Below is an outline of the scoring system:
Academic Qualification
- Master’s Degree – 5 Marks
- Bachelor’s Degree – 3 Marks
- Diploma – 1 Mark
KNEC Examiner
- 4 Marks
Length of Stay in Current Grade
- 7 years and above – 50 Marks
- 6 years – 40 Marks
- 5 years – 30 Marks
- 4 years – 20 Marks
- 3 years – 10 Marks
TPAD Rating
- 81+ – 10 Marks
- 61-80 – 8 Marks
- 41-60 – 6 Marks
- 21-40 – 4 Marks
- 1-20 – 2 Marks
Age
- 55+ years – 30 Marks
- 50-54 years – 26 Marks
- 45-49 years – 22 Marks
- 40-44 years – 18 Marks
- 30-39 years – 14 Marks
Presentation
- 1 Mark
Successful candidates will be contacted by County and Sub-County Directors to collect their promotion letters and will be deployed to schools with available vacancies. Those who did not succeed are encouraged to reapply in the future.
Budget Allocation and Future Plans
For 2025, TSC has been allocated KSh 1 billion for teacher promotions. The Commission is also seeking additional funds to promote an additional 20,000 teachers this year. These promotions aim to address staffing gaps left by retiring Heads of Institutions (HOIs) and Deputy Heads of Institutions (DHOIs), particularly those set to retire in June and August.
Mandatory Documents for Successful Candidates
Successful candidates must submit five key documents in compliance with Chapter 6 of the Kenyan Constitution, which emphasizes leadership and integrity for public officers. The required documents are:
- Valid Certificate of Good Conduct from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI)
- Clearance Certificate from the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB)
- Tax Compliance Certificate from Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA)
- Clearance Certificate from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC)
- Clearance Certificate from an approved Credit Reference Bureau (CRB)
Breakdown of 19,943 Advertised Promotion Vacancies
The 19,943 available positions were distributed across various ranks, as follows:
- Chief Principal (Regular School) – T-Scale 15, Grade D5 – 44 vacancies
- Chief Principal (TTC) – T-Scale 15, Grade D5 – 3 vacancies
- Senior Principal (Regular School) – T-Scale 14, Grade D4 – 126 vacancies
- Senior Principal (TTC) – T-Scale 14, Grade D4 – 3 vacancies
- Principal (Regular School) – T-Scale 13, Grade D3 – 652 vacancies
- Deputy Principal I (TTC) – T-Scale 13, Grade D3 – 3 vacancies
- Deputy Principal II (Secondary School) – T-Scale 12, Grade D2 – 786 vacancies
- Senior Lecturer I (TTC) – T-Scale 12, Grade D2 – 13 vacancies
- Deputy Principal III (Regular School) – T-Scale 11, Grade D1 – 1,408 vacancies
- Senior Lecturer II (TTC) – T-Scale 11, Grade D1 – 32 vacancies
- Senior Master II (Secondary SNE) – T-Scale 11, Grade D1 – 2 vacancies
- Senior Master III (Regular School) – T-Scale 10, Grade C5 – 1,987 vacancies
- Senior Lecturer III (TTC) – T-Scale 10, Grade C5 – 61 vacancies
- Senior Master III (Secondary SNE) – T-Scale 10, Grade C5 – 6 vacancies
- Senior Master IV – T-Scale 9, Grade C4 – 2,221 vacancies
- Senior Lecturer IV (TTC) – T-Scale 9, Grade C4 – 70 vacancies
- Secondary Teacher I (Diploma Teachers) – T-Scale 8, Grade C3 – 184 vacancies
- Lecturer I – T-Scale 8, Grade C3 – 7 vacancies
- Senior Head Teacher (Regular) – T-Scale 11, Grade D1 – 254 vacancies
- Senior Head Teacher (SNE) – T-Scale 11, Grade D1 – 7 vacancies
- Head Teacher (Regular School) – T-Scale 10, Grade C5 – 2,130 vacancies
- Head Teacher (SNE Primary School) – T-Scale 10, Grade C5 – 33 vacancies
- Deputy Head Teacher II (Regular Primary School) – T-Scale 9, Grade C4 – 3,653 vacancies
- Deputy Head Teacher II (SNE) – T-Scale 9, Grade C4 – 33 vacancies
- Senior Teacher I (Regular Primary School) – T-Scale 8, Grade C3 – 4,703 vacancies
- Senior Teacher I (SNE Primary School) – T-Scale 8, Grade C3 – 77 vacancies
- Senior Teacher II (Regular Primary School) – T-Scale 7, Grade C2 – 1,364 vacancies
- Senior Teacher II (SNE Primary School) – T-Scale 7, Grade C2 – 81 vacancies
This initiative marks a significant step in enhancing career progression for teachers and improving education standards in Kenya.
