The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has promoted 16,152 teachers who underwent interviews between December 2020 and February 2021.
The news came just days after a Nairobi court on May 5, upheld the decision to strike off Knut Secretary-General Wilson Sossion’s name from the teacher’s register.
Although Sossion may be feeling hard-dealt by TSC and the courts, some of his teachers are no doubt in a jubilant mood at the prospect of landing a promotion.
In the announcement made on Friday, May 7, 2021, TSC Chief Executive Nancy Macharia stated that interviews were in line with the 2017-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Those promoted will serve in the position of: Deputy Principal 1(T-Scale 13- D3), Deputy Principal II (T-scale 12,D2), Senior Lecturer I (T-scale 12,D2), Deputy Principal III (T-Scale 11-D1), Curriculum Support Officers (T-scale 10-C5), Head teachers (T-scale 10,C5), Senior Master IV( T-scale 9C4), Deputy Head Teachers II (T-scale 9-C4), Senior Lecturer IV (T-scale 9-C4) and teachers in senior Master I (T Scale 9- C4) job groups, head teachers and deputy head teachers II, Secondary Teacher I and II serving under the Career Progression Guidelines and those in ASAL areas.
According to Macharia, 33,000 teachers submitted applications seeking promotion following an advertisement by the teachers’ body.
She, however, cautioned teachers to be careful not to fall prey to scammers who may be looking to hoodwink those seeking promotions claiming that they are in a position to influence the outcomes of the interviews.
“Letters on the outcome of the interviews are in the process of being sent to all teachers who were interviewed,” said the TSC boss.
According to the requirements – for one to qualify for promotion – applicants must have served in previous job groups for a minimum of three years.
The application gave Masters’ degree holders first priority during the short listing – but generally applicants were required to have a Bachelor of Education or Bachelor of Science or Arts degree plus a graduate diploma in Education.
Applicants were also required to have satisfactory ratings in their performance appraisal.
In 2020 alone – a total of 48,619 teachers in Job Groups T-Scale 5 to T-scale were promoted. An additional of 6, 825 teachers from T-Scale 6 to T- scale7 and a further 5,443 teachers from T-scale 7 to T-scale 8 were also promoted.
The promotion of teachers has faced opposition with other leaders expressing their disaffection at the newly created promotion guideline.
Meanwhile, TSC will be grappling with how to plug the massive shortage of teachers in the country with at least 300,000 trained and registered teachers still jobless.
According to the Commission’s 2019-2023 strategic plan launched in May, the number of unemployed teachers is almost the same as those with jobs which stands at over 317,069.
As a result, thousands of trained but jobless teachers, have either teaching in private schools across the country or are engaged in other activities not at all related to teaching as they wait to be absorbed.