The Teacher Service Commission (TSC) has recently published its list of 25,252 teachers who have successfully attained promotions, highlighting disparities among counties that have elicited scrutiny from lawmakers and education stakeholders.
Machakos County led the ranking with 690 promotions, in stark contrast to Garissa’s 303, which was recorded as the lowest among all the counties.
The data was presented to the National Assembly Committee on Education following a request by lawmakers for an examination of the promotions.
Nevertheless, the figures have resulted in a backlash, with inquiries raised concerning the criteria employed to ascertain which teachers received promotions and how the distribution of slots occurred nationwide. Lawmakers, spearheaded by Tinderet MP Julius Melly, have strongly criticized the apparent uniformity in the distribution of promotions, implying deviations from historical norms and neglect of demographic realities.
Melly, who chairs the education committee, criticized the Commission for promoting certain teachers multiple times while others have remained in the same job group for more than a decade.
“How is it possible to promote someone three consecutive times while others have been confined to one job group for more than a decade? ” he queried.
“This is not the first occasion on which we have received such grievances from teachers. The manner in which this list was compiled shows a lack of consideration for fairness. We must comprehend how the TSC arrived at these determinations. ”
The National Assembly Committee on Education subsequently disapproved the list and insisted that TSC furnish a detailed explanation of its promotional criteria. The commission has been allotted until Thursday to address the issues raised by the committee.
In her appearance before the MPs, TSC Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia defended the commission’s strategy, affirming that the promotions adhered to regulatory frameworks that guarantee fairness and consistency.
She referenced the pertinent policies, including Regulation 73 of the Code of Regulations for Teachers, the Career Progression Guidelines, and the Policy on Selection and Appointment of Institutional Administrators.
“Aligning promotion policies with legal and regulatory frameworks, the process firmly abides by Regulation 73 of the Code of Regulations for Teachers, the Career Progression Guidelines, and the Policy on Selection and Appointment of Institutional Administrators,” Macharia stated.
Despite her defense, the process has faced criticism from the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), which claimed that the promotions disproportionately favored regions with fewer teachers to the detriment of densely populated counties.
Moses Nthurima, the Acting Secretary-General of Kuppet, asserted that the distribution disregarded teacher population density and longstanding instances of stagnation.
He noted that numerous teachers who had served in acting roles for several years were excluded, while some newly hired teachers were promoted in rapid succession.
“Certain regions have been disadvantaged. If the 25,000 slots were not allocated proportionally, based on the number of teachers per county, it implies that counties with larger teacher populations are suffering. Those who have stagnated in a job group for years have been overlooked,” Nthurima remarked.
According to TSC, a total of 5,291 teachers were promoted under affirmative action for the 2024/25 financial year. This affirmative action cohort included Isiolo, Lamu, and Mandera counties, which received 282, 280, and 270 promotions, respectively.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Kiambu recorded merely 46 promotions, whereas both Nairobi and Murang’a reported 63 promotions each. The promotions encompassed job groups ranging from C2 to D5. Grade C4 documented the highest quantity of promotions at 8,508, succeeded by C5 with 5,425 and C3 with 4,971.
Additional grades included D1 with 2,519 promotions, C2 with 1,445, and D3 with 1,410. At the upper echelons, D2 experienced 799 promotions, D4 had 128, while only 47 educators were elevated to D5. Nthurima asserted that the process was devoid of fairness and indicated that considerations such as tenure, performance, and experience were not applied consistently.
“The commission is now stating that it also took age into account, but age has never been a primary consideration. The fundamental factors are years of service, duties fulfilled, and performance in both curricular and co-curricular activities,” he articulated.
He raised a query regarding why educators who had occupied acting positions for extended durations were habitually disregarded. “Certain educators have held positions as deputies or principals for six or seven years and continue to be relegated to acting roles, while others in less populated counties receive promotions,” Nthurima remarked.
The union representative also expressed concerns over the Commission’s absence of consultation, asserting that Kuppet had not been involved during either the planning or execution of the promotions.
“We seek clarity on the rationale behind such promotions. Unless there are underlying factors, it is apparent that numerous deserving educators have been overlooked. We corresponded with the commission, but it has never provided a response. It seems the commission does not engage with unions. The TSC appears to regard unions as inconsequential,” he stated.
Legislators and union representatives are now advocating for future promotion processes to adopt a more consultative stance, ensure accountability, and adequately reflect both demographic dynamics and the challenges associated with career stagnation across different regions.