The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is set to start distributing promotion letters to qualified educators this week. This encompasses those who succeeded in the recent promotion interviews for post-primary school teaching positions.
Candidates who were not successful will also receive regret letters.
In the meantime, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has published a complete list of promoted teachers, detailing how slots were allocated among the counties.
Machakos County received the highest number of promotions with 690 teachers, while Garissa had the fewest with 303 promoted educators. The list showcased a variety of job grades and the number of positions assigned to each county.
The contentious list of 25,252 educators promoted on April 2 has ignited discussions, with lawmakers rejecting the list presented in the national assembly, alleging that the promotion process was biased.
The commission noted that the positions were distributed with minor variations across counties, regardless of the number of applicants.
The TSC provided data on numbers for common cadre promotions and those advanced under affirmative action for the 2024/25 financial year, where 5,291 tutors were promoted across 47 counties.
In this category, the highest recipients were Isiolo County, which had 282 teachers promoted, Lamu with 280 teachers, and Mandera with 270 teachers promoted.
The counties with the least promotions included Kiambu with 46 teachers, Nairobi with 63, Murang’a with 63, and both Elgeyo Marakwet and Laikipia, each receiving 64.
The commission’s promotions progressed from grade C2 to D5, with the majority of teachers promoted to grade C4, totaling 8,508 promotions, followed by C5 with 5,425.
Other promotions included 4,971 to C3, 2,519 to D1, 1,445 to C2, and 1,410 to D3.
At the executive level, 799 teachers were elevated to D2, 128 to D4, and a cumulative total of 47 to D5.
TSC Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia stated that the promotions were conducted correctly according to the commission’s rules, emphasizing that it was regionally balanced.
The CEO, who appeared before the national assembly education committee, reaffirmed that the process strictly followed Regulation 72 of the code of regulations for teachers, the career progression guidelines, and the policy on the selection and appointment of institutional administrators.
Committee chair MP Julius Melly indicated that the promotions were executed according to established rules, asserting that they were not biased.
He pointed out that certain teachers were promoted three consecutive times while others remained in the same job group for over a decade, highlighting that the distribution overlooked population dynamics.
The lawmakers will investigate what they termed the multiple promotions of recently employed teachers at the cost of others who have been shortlisted, interviewed, yet have not been promoted for years.
The TSC was given a deadline until Thursday this week to present a comprehensive list showing teachers who served in specific job groups before promotion and the criteria used to promote the 25,252 teachers.
Acting Deputy Secretary-General of the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), Moses Nthurima, condemned the Commission for its biased promotion process.
He stated that the criteria disadvantaged numerous educators, especially in regions with significant teacher demands.
Nthurima questioned the promotion of teachers who have worked for six months when the policy stipulates three years; he stated that TSC did not implement a matrix for promotion that considers years of service, performance, and academic qualifications.
The Union sent a letter to TSC, who have not yet responded to their requests; the union has now highlighted the absence of consultation by the teachers’ employer.