More Strict Rules For December 2022 Teacher Recruitment
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has outlined tough guidelines for recruitment of new employees for postprimary institutions in the 2022/2023 Financial Year. In a 23-page document, TSC Secretary Nancy Macharia said the selection panel will be required to demonstrate the highest degree of transparency and accountability when hiring the teachers.
Any application form or offer of employment given based on false information provided by the applicant will be cancelled immediately without any further reference to them. “Applicants whose names differ in the academic and professional certificates or identification cards must present an affidavit, sworn under the Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act, Cap 15 of the Laws of Kenya, to explain the variance in names,” the new rules. The directives are contained in a circular to TSC regional, county and sub-county directors of education as well as the Boards of Management (BoMs) secretaries dated December 9.
The circular comes against the backdrop of heightened lobbying by Members of Parliament to have their constituents hired in this recruitment drive, amid fears of legislators hijacking the recruitment drive. TSC regional directors are required to induct county directors within their jurisdictions, who will in turn induct members of selection panels on the relevant sections of the Public Officer Ethics Act and the Code of Regulations for Teachers (CORT, 2015) before commencing the selection.
Macharia also said all applicants must be duly registered teachers in line with Section 23(1) of the Teachers Service Commission Act, 2012. Those who are not registered will not be considered for recruitment. Applicants whose training is in subjects currently not taught in the secondary school curriculum do not qualify either, whether they have a Post Graduate Diploma in Education or enhancement. “This category includes but is not limited to Bachelor of Science /Bachelor of Arts in Natural Resources, Horticulture, Fisheries, Meteorology, Farm Machinery, Anthropology, Forestry, Sociology, Biotechnology, Animal Husbandry, Journalism, Theology or Divinity”.
Read also:
Your 60% Payrise Push Unrealistic, Machogu Tell Teachers
KNUT Launches Fresh Push for 60% Pay Hike
15,522 Teacher-Promotion Slots Up For Grabs After KCSE
TSC Clarifies Involvement of MPs in December 2022 Teacher Recruitment Process
However, applicants with Economics, Commerce or Accounting degrees can apply to teach Business Studies. Diploma holders with English or other subjects can also qualify for employment as teachers of English/Literature on condition that they have studied adequate units in both Language and Literature. All applicants must have studied the two teaching subjects at KCSE except for Agriculture, Business Studies, Home Science and Computer Studies. “Graduate Teachers should have studied a minimum of eight course units in each teaching subject.
In addition, the teachers must have studied Special Methods in their two teaching subjects of choice together with a minimum of three months teaching practice,” Macharia says in the circular. Enhancement certificate(s) and transcripts will only apply where an applicant had not covered the minimum number of units when they were studying for their degree or diploma programme. “Applicants previously employed under contract and whose services were terminated due to inadequate units in teaching subjects and have since obtained enhancement certificates with adequate units are eligible to apply,” says the circular.
TSC sub-county directors must confirm the online registration status of the applicants at shortlisting stage to avoid engaging unregistered/deregistered teachers or ineligible applicants. Applicants who re-sat either Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) or Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams, or their equivalents, must present certified copies of the certificate(s) of the national examination(s) in question for all the attempts. Copies of the certificates must be certified by sub-county directors, with TSC saying that provisional transcripts will not be accepted. “Upon generation of applicants’ list from the system, the TSC County Director shall share the lists with TSC Sub-County Director who shall convene the Sub-County selection panel(s).
The TSC selection panel(s) shall verify applicants’ professional, academic and any other relevant documents before shortlisting a maximum of five applicants per advertised post,” the TSC Secretary explained. Interview date Sub-county directors will be expected to invite shortlisted applicants for the verification of documents. The invitations will be through a Short Messaging Service (SMS). “The message shall include the interview date, venue and time. The verification of documents shall be conducted at least seven days from the date of invitation,” the circular says. According to TSC, the list of shortlisted applicants by subject combination will immediately be submitted to the TSC County Director who will verify it, compile and submit to the TSC Regional Director who will in turn verify, compile and submit the lists to the commission’s headquarters for subsequent publishing on the TSC website.
If invited for an interview, an applicant will be required to present original documents and clear photocopies of their national identity card, certificate of registration as a teacher, diploma/degree certificate and official transcripts, KCSE and KCPE certificates or their equivalent, including certificates for attempts if one re-sat exams. Other documents that one must present include primary and secondary school leaving certificates and other relevant testimonials, National Council of Persons with Disabilities Card (where applicable), an affidavit sworn under the Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act, Cap 15 of the Laws of Kenya to explain any variance in names as well as a letter of certification of results by the national examinations council, where applicable. Relevant testimonials “All applicants, irrespective of gender, disability, ethnicity or home county shall be given equal opportunities. Persons with disabilities will be required to indicate their disability status together with the nature of disabilities to inform their placement,” said Macharia.
In the event of a tie, consideration for selection will be determined as per the order of priority, including applicants’ disability status, length of stay since graduation and strength of academic and professional certificates presented. Preference will be given to applicants who have never been employed by TSC. According to the circular, teachers currently serving as interns need not apply since TSC will directly recruit them and post them to Junior Secondary Schools (JSS).
The selection panel for JSS will include three members; a TSC sub-county director as the chairperson, TSC county Human Resource officer and Curriculum Support Officer or subject specialists. For institutions with BoMs, the selection panel will comprise chairperson of BoM, Head of the institution as the Secretary and three members comprising subject specialist, Parents Association (PA) chairperson as well as TSC county director or their representative. For schools without BoMs, the panel will comprise a TSC county director or a representative as chairperson, the head of the institution, subject specialist, PA chairperson and PA member. On recruitment criteria, selection panels will provide a list of all shortlisted applicants as received from the TSC County Director and only those who meet the conditions will be interviewed. Applicants will appear in person before the selection panel and will be graded based on the score guide provided.
