Teachers Service Commission (TSC) headquarters in Upper Hill, Nairobi.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) requires at least Sh5 billion over its current budgetary allocation to promote thousands of teachers, a parliamentary committee report shows.
The Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) of the National Assembly notes that the current budget of Sh1 billion is insufficient to cover the promotion of thousands of teachers. The teachers became eligible for promotion having completed three years or more in their current grade, with many others becoming eligible annually.
Suba South MP Caroli Omondi.
CIOC, chaired by Suba South MP Caroli Omondi, also reveals in the report that the lack of sufficient budgetary allocations has “severely” constrained TSC’s ability to implement career progression guidelines for teachers in public schools, risking the quality of education offered.
The MPs want the commission to provide more details, including specific budget requirements for promoting these teachers as mandated by the law. This, CIOC says, should include a detailed breakdown of promotion costs and proposed timeline for addressing the promotion backlog.
In the current financial year, TSC was allocated Sh378.2 billion, which covers payment of teachers’ salaries, and hiring of teachers on permanent terms and interns.
Teachers Service Commission Acting CEO Evaleen Mitei.
TSC is mandated by the TSC Act to undertake recruitment, registration, employment, assignment, promotion, transfer, discipline and termination of teachers in public institutions.
Automatic promotions
In July this year, the commission made a significant policy shift to automatic promotions to fast-track progression for deserving teachers, rewarding consistent performance with faster career growth while managing higher-level promotions through traditional competitive means.
The automatic promotion after every three years of service in their grades applies to common cadre teachers—B5 to C1, C1 to C2 and C2 to C3—based on “satisfactory” performance tracked through the Teacher Professional Appraisal Development system. This new system, whose implementation began in the current financial year, eliminates the rigidities of interviews to address stagnation.
But for higher cadres—D1 and above—promotions remain competitive, requiring advertising of vacancies followed by interviews. However, budget constraints pose challenges for mass promotions, necessitating extra funding for the elevation of thousands of teachers who have stagnated in their grades.
Other than the funding gaps, the CIOC report notes that TSC faces complications arising from veteran teachers who decline promotions to avoid mandatory transfers from their preferred duty stations. This backlog, it says, represents a “significant” challenge to teacher motivation and career development.
Budgetary provisions
“The commission recommends continuous budgetary provisions specifically allocated for teacher promotions to address this growing backlog and ensure career progression remains viable for serving teachers,” TSC says in the CIOC report.
The committee also wants TSC to provide detailed data on teachers who have been promoted, including original employment dates and corresponding promotion dates.
“This information should demonstrate the correlation between graduation years, employment periods and promotion timelines to address the inconsistencies observed in the employment and career progression patterns,” CIOC says.
The MPs also demand that the data should include analysis of promotion trends over the past five years to identify any systemic delays or preferential treatment patterns. They further want the commission to provide data on teachers who are eligible but have not been promoted, categorised by years of service and qualification levels.
Information on affirmative measures taken or planned for the counties affected by teacher shortages to ensure equitable distribution is also required.
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