As the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) finalises yet another round of promotions, a fresh wave of frustration is sweeping through the teaching profession.
A section of teachers, many stuck in the same job group for up to a decade, believe they have once again been sidelined, convinced the process increasingly favours teachers aged 45 years and above.
In 2025 alone, the numbers tell a story of overwhelming demand for teacher promotions amid a backlog of stagnated tutors versus the limited opportunities announced by the TSC.
Official data shows the TSC received 131,734 applications for only 21,313 promotion slots announced in August, an oversubscription of more than 618 per cent. Earlier in the year, the trend was similar when 189,000 teachers competed for 25,288 vacancies, nearly eight times the available positions.
Despite the recurring exercises, the promotions have barely dented the backlog of stagnated teachers, many of whom feel forgotten by a system they have served for decades.
For teachers like Judy Mwema, the promotion journey has been a bruising emotional and financial battle. Eleven years stuck at Grade C1, weighed down by study loans she took hoping to climb the ranks, Judy says the rejection letters have drained her morale and shaken her confidence.
“This time round, they were going for those above 45 years, so the age factor has locked me out, as has been the case over the years,” she says.
Her story is echoed by Florence Wanjiru, who has been stuck at C2 for 10 years despite attending three promotion interviews.
“We were encouraged to apply for the August vacancies, but curiously, shortlisting was for those aged 45 and above, and that is how I was left behind once again,” she says.
Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers secretary general Akelo Misori (center) speaks to the media at the union's headquarters in Nairobi offices on August 20, 2025. With him is Kuppet national chairman Omboko Milemba (right) and deputy secretary general Moses Nthurima.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
Prior to TSC putting out the advertisement, the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) had demanded that the teachers’ employer immediately promote more than 130,000 teachers who have been stuck in the same job group for over a decade.
At the time, the union cited reforms in the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) promotion system that abolished the requirement for declaration of vacancies and interviews for certain long-serving officers.
While commending the move by the NPSC as brave, the union noted that it contrasted with the failure of the TSC to deal with the same stagnation among teachers.
Knut Secretary-General Collins Oyuu.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Following the latest oversubscription for teacher promotions, Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary-General Collins Oyuu noted that the TSC continues to advertise fewer slots than necessary, freezing tens of thousands of qualified teachers in the same grades.
Kuppet Deputy Secretary-General Moses Nthurima warns that of the over 130,000 teachers stuck in the system, about 100,000 are nearing retirement without ever rising from their job groups.
Earlier in the year, the first round of shortlisting triggered widespread anger. The promotions advertised in late 2024 and interviews held in early 2025 were marred by allegations of unfair distribution of opportunities across counties owing to the use of the quota system.
Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers Deputy Secretary-General Moses Nthurima.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Following the revelations, secondary school principals wrote a protest letter to the TSC, calling the criteria used “unfair.” The Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (Kessha) further petitioned Parliament, arguing that the quota system disadvantaged certain regions.
Both the National Assembly and the Senate concurred with Kessha, consequently rejecting the list of 25,000 teachers that had been listed for promotion, arguing that the criteria breached the mandatory three-year service rule.
The TSC, on its part, admitted it had “relaxed” the rule to attract the requisite number of applicants for deputy headteacher (Grade C4) and principal (Grade D3) posts, which it noted did not have sufficient qualified teachers nationally.
Even after several meetings with the TSC, lawmakers remained unconvinced by the decision to justify the relaxation of the three-year rule as stipulated in the Career Progression Guidelines, resulting in a stalemate.
Under pressure and after a meeting that ran into the night, the TSC issued a revised list of 23,000 promotions on May 29. Hundreds of teachers were engulfed in anxiety and frustration as they awaited official promotion letters from the TSC months after being listed among the successful candidates.
When the official letters arrived, a section of teachers were stunned to discover they had been transferred to far-flung counties, in some cases just months before retirement.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba (left) and National Chairman, Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association Willy Kuria during the 48thKESSHA Annual National Conference for in Mombasa on June 25, 2025.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
A particularly controversial pattern emerged in which teachers promoted in Nairobi for administrative posts were almost uniformly posted to Kitui County, including 52 deputy headteachers, 43 headteachers, 35 deputy principals and 26 principals.
Most were above 50 years, and many believed the transfers amounted to “punishment postings.”
“I have back problems such that even walking is difficult, and posting me to Kitui is like digging my grave,” said a teacher with only six months to retirement, who described the transfer as cruel.
Another, battling disability and hypertension, wondered who would care for her children if she relocated.
The postings revived painful memories of the now-defunct delocalisation policy, abolished in 2021 after widespread resistance.
Following days of outcry, amplified by Knut, Kuppet and the affected teachers, the TSC eventually withdrew the controversial transfer letters.
The revised communication confirmed that the promotions remain valid, that affected teachers will stay in their current stations, and that they will be redeployed within Nairobi or neighbouring counties once vacancies arise.
