TSC Updates Promotion Standards in the Face of Teacher Shortage
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) faces mounting pressure to fill over 15,000 vacancies for principals and head teachers, with an equal number of educators set to retire by the end of July. There is an especially urgent need for Deputy Chief Executive Officers, Deputy Principals, and Senior Instructors in numerous schools.
The situation has been worsened by the TSC’s introduction of stricter qualifications for teachers aspiring to become school administrators. The shift from Schemes of Service (SoS) to Career Progression Guidelines (CPG) has made it harder for classroom teachers to move into leadership roles.
In response, teachers’ unions Knut and Kuppet are advocating for the TSC to ease these requirements, allowing more teachers to take on administrative positions. Despite repeated calls for applications, the TSC has struggled to find qualified candidates for senior management roles in schools.
Dr. Nancy Macharia, the TSC CEO, disclosed that prior attempts to fill these roles in January and March were unsuccessful. As a result, a new advertisement has been released, inviting eligible teachers to apply for roughly 1,001 positions within the next week.
The latest job openings include 987 deputy head teacher positions in regular elementary schools, as well as eight principal and six deputy principal roles in Special Needs Education (SNE) schools. Dr. Macharia has encouraged interested teachers to apply between July 9 and July 15, highlighting the Commission’s dedication to promoting teachers based on performance and potential for career advancement.
Earlier this year, the TSC promoted 14,738 teachers to address vacancies in various educational institutions. Despite these efforts, many schools remain without heads and deputy heads, as teachers have shown reluctance to apply for these positions.
Dr. Macharia emphasized that the TSC is tasked with ensuring effective management in public educational institutions, including special needs schools. She pointed out the significant advantages of administrative positions, which should attract more applicants.
Currently, only a few instructors have applied for the advertised roles. While 5,152 deputy head teachers have been appointed in regular primary schools, only two applications have been received for deputy principal positions in SNE schools. A re-advertisement two months ago attracted 1,591 applications, with a very small number applying for principal or deputy principal posts in SNE schools.
Overall, the TSC continues to encourage eligible teachers to apply for these essential administrative roles to ensure the efficient management of schools nationwide.
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TSC Updates Promotion Standards in the Face of Teacher Shortage
