Lawmakers have accused the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) of failing to match its well-laid recruitment policies with the reality on the ground, citing glaring disparities that continue to disadvantage teachers and learners across the country.
While appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Education on Wednesday, TSC officials defended their recruitment process as anchored in merit, fairness, inclusivity and transparency. They said vacancies are identified based on shortages, distributed proportionally to counties and sub-counties, and advertised publicly.
“A uniform scoring guide is applied to ensure fairness, and five percent of positions are reserved for persons with disabilities,” the commission told MPs.
According to the commission, the recruitment process begins with the identification of vacancies arising from exits or shortages. Vacancies are then distributed proportionally to counties and sub-counties, advertised publicly in newspapers and on the TSC website, and applications submitted online. Candidates are invited for document verification at sub-county offices before decentralised interviews are conducted at school or county level.
The commission insisted that it applies a uniform scoring guide across the country and gives priority to hard-to-staff and marginalised areas. Five percent of all advertised positions are reserved for persons with disabilities. It further said a data-driven formula guides recruitment, ensuring vacancies are allocated fairly according to student population and subject needs, with particular attention to STEM, technical, arts and special needs education.
But MPs said the theory does not reflect reality. They pointed to glaring inequities where some graduates who completed training more than a decade ago are still unemployed, while others who graduated only two years ago have already secured teaching jobs.
“Many of them have approached 45 and the cut off is 45 years, and yet they are still waiting for employment. It is not fair that people who graduated 15 years ago have not been recruited, while recent graduates are already in classrooms,” said Homa Bay Woman Representative Joyce Osogo Bensuda.
Makueni MP Suzanne Kiamba told the Ministry of Education and TSC that it is unfair for teachers to retire without ever having been formally employed.
“I have 10 women in my constituency, they are 48 years and they are trained teachers. They hold TSC numbers and have applied repeatedly without success. These are mothers who went for training. They have 15 years of strength left, but they have never been employed. That is a waste of this country’s investment in their training,” she told the House.
The lawmakers also decried regional imbalances, noting that some counties are well staffed while others are left with acute shortages, forcing parents and Boards of Management to hire teachers from their own pockets.
“In some schools you will find 300 learners but only one TSC teacher, while parents are paying four others. These parents are taxpayers too. That is marginalisation,” said Aldai MP Marianne Jebet Kitany.
The legislators demanded that TSC produce constituency-level data showing the number of teachers, their TSC numbers, postings and the student population in each school.
“We have teachers with two years of experience and they are employed. There are regions where there are no teachers. We want to look at the data, to allow us to track disparities and ensure recruitment is based on real needs rather than uniform distribution across counties,” said Mombasa Woman Representative Zamzam Mohamed.
“It is unfortunate that teachers are being overlooked. When it comes to promotions, they need to look at the ones who have worked over the years,” she added.
Others argued that the recruitment criteria favours science teachers at the expense of arts and social sciences.
“If you look at the interview marking scheme, it is skewed towards sciences. Social science teachers are completely marginalised,” said one MP, calling for reforms to ensure a balanced curriculum.
Committee members also pressed the commission to prioritise hiring teachers earlier in their careers.
“There is no need for someone to retire before he or she has even worked. Teachers should be absorbed while still in their prime. The policies look good on paper, but our schools tell a different story,” said MP Bensuda.
