The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has advertised 7,720 teaching vacancies on permanent and pensionable terms as it moves to replace teachers who have exited service through natural attrition.
The vacancies comprise 5,609 positions in primary schools, 25 in junior schools and 2,086 in secondary schools.
In an advertisement published on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, the commission invited qualified candidates to submit applications through its online recruitment portal, with the deadline set for midnight on November 23, 2026.
Successful applicants will be employed on permanent and pensionable terms of service. To qualify, applicants must be Kenyan citizens, registered teachers with the TSC and meet the academic requirements for the respective teaching levels.
“Successful applicants will be employed on permanent and pensionable terms of service," said TSC.
TSC Acting CEO Evaleen Mitei.
Photo credit: Pool
Candidates seeking primary school positions must possess a minimum of a Primary One (P1) certificate, while those applying for junior and secondary school positions must have at least a Diploma in Education.
The commission said applications must be submitted online through its website under the Careers section, or through the recruitment portal.
TSC said only one application for employment form should be submitted by each candidate, warning that multiple applications would lead to disqualification. Manual applications will not be considered.
“Manual applications shall not be considered,” the commission said.
The commission further said merit lists generated during the recruitment exercise would be used for subsequent recruitment within the 2026/2027 financial year.
Shortlisted candidates will be required to present their original academic and professional certificates during the recruitment process.
TSC said preference would be given to applicants who have not previously been employed by the commission. Successful candidates may be deployed to any part of the country, irrespective of the county or school where they were interviewed.
However, teachers recruited to fill junior school replacement vacancies will be posted to the specific schools where the vacancies arose.
The commission said its recruitment guidelines for the 2026/2027 financial year would apply throughout the exercise.
“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 advertisement stated.
The recruitment comes as the commission continues to address staffing gaps in public schools arising from teachers leaving service.
In July, the Teachers Service Commission advertised 20,000 permanent and pensionable positions for junior school teachers to support the implementation of the Competency-Based Education curriculum.
A month later, the commission announced a further 35,550 teaching opportunities, comprising 10,000 permanent and pensionable positions in primary and secondary schools and 25,550 internship positions.
The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) has argued that the advertised vacancies are insufficient to address the backlog of teachers who have remained in the same job groups for years.
Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) Secretary-General Akelo Misori speaks to the media at the union’s headquarters in Nairobi on August 11, 2025.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
At its National Governing Council meeting on May 15, 2026, the union demanded that TSC advertise promotion vacancies for 135,000 teachers.
“We are demanding that the TSC immediately advertise vacancies for the promotion of 135,000 teachers who have stagnated in their job groups," Secretary-General Akello Misori said.
September 2026, TSC told the Senate Education Committee that 178,871 primary and secondary school teachers had stagnated in their job groups, citing budgetary constraints as a major obstacle to clearing the backlog.
A report presented to the Senate showed that 7,620 public primary schools had headteachers or deputy headteachers serving in acting capacities and 3,612 secondary schools had acting principals or deputy principals.
In June 2026, Kuppet welcomed an agreement with TSC to review the Career Progression Guidelines, which determine how teachers advance through the profession.
The proposed reforms introduce two career pathways: administrative and classroom-based. This would allow teachers to progress to senior grades without necessarily becoming school administrators.
“The introduction of dual pathways—administrative and classroom-based—together with provisions for crossing over and greater mobility, will greatly reduce stagnation that has frustrated many dedicated teachers for years," Kuppet deputy secretary-general Moses Nthurima said.
