The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has advertised 20,000 permanent and pensionable teaching vacancies for junior schools in a fresh recruitment drive aimed at strengthening staffing under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) programme.
In a notice published on Tuesday, the Commission invited qualified candidates to apply for the Post Primary (P&P) teacher positions, saying the recruitment is intended to support the implementation of the junior school curriculum.
“TSC invites applications from qualified candidates to fill 20,000 Post Primary teachers posts in Junior Schools to support the implementation of Competency Based Education,” the advert reads.
Applications will be submitted online through the Commission’s website under the Careers section or through the Teachers Online portal. The application portal opens on August 18 and closes at midnight on August 31, 2026.
The recruitment comes as the Commission continues to grapple with a nationwide teacher shortage that has affected the implementation of the Competency-Based Education (CBE) curriculum, particularly in junior schools.
Teachers Service Commission (TSC) headquarters in Upper Hill, Nairobi.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Although the government has recruited thousands of teachers in recent years, TSC estimates the country still faces an overall shortage of about 96,345 teachers, comprising 38,054 in primary schools and 58,291 in post-primary institutions.
A 2025 education sector assessment also found that junior schools alone have a deficit of at least 72,000 teachers, underscoring the continued staffing pressure as the first cohort of Grade 9 learners prepares to transition to senior school.
To qualify for recruitment, applicants must be Kenyan citizens, hold at least a diploma in education with a minimum mean grade of C+ in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), including C+ in the two teaching subjects or their equivalent, and be registered teachers with the Commission.
The Commission said applicants with equivalent qualifications should consult its website for guidance. It further said, successful teacher interns will be retained in their current sub-counties or stations
”Recruitment will be guided by the Teachers Service Commission’s Recruitment Guidelines for Post Primary Teachers for the 2026/2027 financial year, with manual applications not being accepted,” said TSC.
“Successful applicants will be deployed based on the number of vacancies available in each county and will be expected to teach various learning areas under the junior school curriculum,” it added.
It further said only unemployed teachers with no record of exiting its service on disciplinary grounds will be eligible for consideration. Shortlisted candidates will be required to present original academic and professional certificates during the verification process.
The recruitment comes amid sustained pressure from teachers’ unions, which have repeatedly accused the Commission of failing to adequately staff public schools and called for the absorption of junior school intern teachers into permanent and pensionable terms.
The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) National Chairman Omboko Milemba (left) during a media briefing on July 22, 2026. With him is National Secretary Gender Juliet Kimotho (right) and Secretary-General Akelo Misori.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) has called on the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to seek funds from Parliament and immediately employ the 44,000 junior school intern teachers on permanent and pensionable terms.
Kuppet national chairman Omboko Milemba called on TSC to employ teachers on a permanent basis, noting that the interns had been earning a Sh20,000 stipend, taking home about Sh17,000 after statutory deductions.
“internship programme; it has been a real thorn in the flesh for the teachers who have suffered a lot. They are exploited. Later on, we should be speaking about how they should be compensated for these wrongs,” Milemba said.
The latest recruitment comes days after TSC advertised 34,016 promotion vacancies for teachers in public primary schools, secondary schools and teacher training colleges, bringing the total number of recruitment and promotion opportunities currently on offer to more than 54,000.
Acting TSC Chief Executive Officer Eveleen Mitei (left) and Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Chairperson Jamleck Muturi during the signing of a pact between the TSC and teachers’ unions, KNUT, KUPPET and KUSNET on the new Career Progression Guidelines at the TSC headquarters in Upper Hill, Nairobi, on June 18, 2026.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
TSC Chairperson Jamleck Muturi recently said the recruitment forms part of the government’s efforts to strengthen teacher staffing in schools implementing the Competency-Based Education curriculum. He said the government had, over the past three years, recruited more than 100,000 teachers and promoted over 270,000 others as part of efforts to improve learning in public schools.
The Commission reminded applicants that the recruitment exercise is free of charge and cautioned them against fraudsters purporting to influence the hiring process.
“The recruitment exercise is free of charge. The Teachers Service Commission forewarns applicants against fraudsters who might extort money from unsuspecting persons purporting to assist in recruitment,” the advert states.
