The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has re-advertised 1,631 promotional vacancies for school administrators, offering a fresh opportunity for teachers seeking to rise into leadership positions amid a shortage of substantive administrators in public schools.
The vacancies comprise 1,470 Deputy Headteacher II positions, 132 Deputy Principal III positions and 29 Senior Master II positions in primary and secondary schools.
“The commission invites applications from suitably qualified serving teachers to fill the following promotional vacancies in accordance with the Career Progression Guidelines for Teachers. Applications must be received by midnight on Monday, 14 September 2026,” read the TSC notice.
The re-advertisement comes just weeks after the commission launched a much larger promotion exercise involving 34,016 teachers across 30 cadres, in what was described as one of the largest career progression exercises in recent years.
The wider exercise, advertised in July, covered positions ranging from Senior Teacher II to Chief Principal and included teaching, school administration, curriculum support and teacher-training college positions. The largest number of vacancies—13,490—was for Senior Teacher II.
The latest 1,631 vacancies, however, are significant because they specifically target school management positions at a time when thousands of public schools are operating without substantive administrators.
The promotions come amid growing concern over career stagnation in the teaching service. TSC told Parliament that 178,871 primary and secondary school teachers have remained in the same job groups due to chronic budget shortfalls, with the commission saying it requires billions of shillings to clear the backlog.
The acting Chief Executive Officer of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Evaleen Mitei before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Education.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo| Nation Media Group
The commission noted that the highest concentration of stagnated teachers is in the C3 grade for secondary school teachers and C1 grade for primary school teachers, where many educators have remained for years despite meeting the qualifications for promotion.
The quarterly advertisement comes as thousands of teachers continue to seek career progression amid longstanding complaints over delayed promotions and stagnation in the same job grades despite meeting the eligibility requirements.
The promotion exercise also comes months after the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) stepped up pressure on the commission to clear long-standing promotion backlogs. During its first National Governing Council meeting for the 2026–2031 term, the union demanded that TSC immediately advertise vacancies for the promotion of 135,000 teachers who have remained in the same job groups for years.
“We are demanding that the TSC immediately advertise vacancies for the promotion of 135,000 teachers who have stagnated in their job groups. We also want them to implement the second phase of the 2025–2029 CBA and should immediately truncate the third and fourth phases of the CBA to be implemented in July 2027,” said Kuppet secretary-general Akello Misori.
From left: Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Secretary General Akello Misori, Chairman Omboko Milemba, and National Vice Chairman Julius Korir address journalists during a press conference along 3rd Parklands Avenue in Nairobi on March 5, 2026.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
A report presented to the Senate Education Committee showed that 7,620 public primary schools had either headteachers or deputy headteachers serving in acting capacities. In secondary schools, another 3,612 institutions had either acting principals or deputy principals.
This means more than 11,200 public schools were affected by leadership gaps, with teachers being required to take up administrative responsibilities on an acting basis.
The re-advertisement comes nearly a year after President William Ruto pledged to increase funding for teacher promotions and facilitate the promotion of 50,000 teachers annually.
President William Ruto during a meeting with more than 10,000 teachers at State House, Nairobi on September 13, 2025.
Photo credit: PCS
At the September 2025 “Walimu na Rais” forum at State House, Nairobi, Dr Ruto announced that the annual allocation for teacher promotions would be doubled from Sh1 billion to Sh2 billion, saying the additional funding would support increased career progression for teachers.
According to sources, the additional Sh2 billion allocation will finance 11,866 promotions, while a further 22,150 promotions will be funded through vacancies expected to arise as teachers leave the service.
This brings the total planned promotions to 34,016, at an estimated cost of Sh6.333 billion.
A TSC source said the additional Sh2 billion allocation was sufficient only for the 11,866 promotions specifically provided for through the additional budget.
The official said the commission would require substantially more funding if the government expects it to reach the President’s 50,000 target.
“If the expectation is 50,000, bring an additional Sh5 billion and we promote teachers. We have no problem,” the source revealed.
