The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has begun collecting and updating data on all registered teachers who are not currently employed by the commission.
The commission aims to create a database of all trained but unemployed teachers, including their subject specialisations and level of training. The data will also include the age of the teachers. Some are above 45 years but have remained unemployed. It is estimated that over 300,000 qualified teachers are not employed by the TSC, yet public schools remain understaffed. Whereas some of the teachers are employed in private schools, a vast majority are not in other sectors or are jobless.
The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the commission, Evaleen Mitei, said the exercise is a nationwide effort targeting registered teachers outside TSC employment. She was, however, quick to clarify that the exercise is not a recruitment drive. It is done online at the TSC website and will close on April 7 2026.
“The purpose of this exercise is to update existing records for effective teacher workforce planning, including establishing the demand and supply of qualified teachers to inform recruitment and related policies,” said Ms Mitei.
Teachers Service Commission CEO Evaleen Mitei speaks to the media at the Ministry of Health offices in Nairobi on March 10, 2026.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
The additional information required includes teachers’ qualifications, subject specialization or combination, and level of training. The data collected will be processed and stored in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act and the Commission’s Privacy Notice.
“As both a regulator of the teaching profession and an employer of teachers in the public sector, the Commission requires accurate and authentic data on the number of teachers in the job market, their specialization, age, and geographical distribution. This is critical in rendering advisory to the National Government and in developing appropriate policies on teacher training, utilisation, distribution, and specialization,” Ms Mitei told the Daily Nation .
In a statement, she noted that under Article 237(2) and (3) of the Constitution, the commission is mandated to register trained teachers, review standards of education and training for those entering the profession, assess the demand and supply of teachers, and advise the National Government on matters relating to the teaching profession.
“In addition, Section 24 of the TSC Act, 2012 stipulates that the commission shall maintain a register containing the names and addresses of every teacher registered under the Act, as well as the qualifications for which registration is granted,” she said.
She added that the register shall also include such other particulars as may be prescribed by the Commission from time to time, and that it shall be a public document.
When President William Ruto was campaigning for office in 2022, he promised to employ 116,000 teachers within two years. So far, 100,000 have been recruited, but 44,000 of these are under the internship programme, which has been outlawed by the High Court as well as the Court of Appeal. The fate of the teachers remains unclear as the TSC has only two options: to either terminate the contracts of the teachers or convert them to permanent terms.
The internship model has been a cornerstone of the Kenya Kwanza administration’s education plan, especially for staff in junior schools, with President Ruto previously defending it as a pragmatic solution to the backlog of unemployed trained teachers.
Under the plan, interns were initially contracted to serve for one year before automatic confirmation to permanent terms. This was later changed to two years, last year.
“We introduced this programme with the assurance that after serving for two years, interns are confirmed without negotiation. I want to assure every intern that this remains the plan,” the President said recently.
However, a court ruling declared the internship programme unconstitutional.
The ruling comes at a sensitive time, shortly after junior school interns renewed their contracts for another year, running from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2026.
