Interns to have head start in scramble for TSC jobs

A teacher in class.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • The interns will be awarded an automatic 10 per cent mark.
  • Last year’s graduates will score 15 per cent.
  • Score sheet favours teachers who have been unemployed for long.
  • Technical institution tutors are required to have minimum mean grade of C+.

Teachers Service Commission (TSC) interns will have a head start over other applicants during interviews for the 11,574 vacancies announced on Tuesday.

The interns will be awarded an automatic 10 per cent mark, according to the scoring guidelines issued by the commission ahead of the recruitment, which seeks to ease staff shortage in public schools.

The score sheet also favours teachers who have been unemployed for long, with those who graduated in 2012 or before having 50 per cent in the “length of stay” section.

Last year’s graduates will score 15 per cent.

Teachers have until September 14 to apply for the 6,100 vacancies in secondary and 5,474 in primary school.

Successful candidates are expected to start working in January.

Not popular

The internship programme has not been popular due to the monthly pay of Sh10,000 for a primary school teacher and Sh15,000 for one in high school.

The application will be managed online via the TSC website.

Previously, job seekers would apply through secondary school principals and TSC sub-county directors.

The commission has released a list of schools vacancies exist and the subject combinations required.

Regional education directors will be briefed on the recruitment on Tuesday.

At the close of the application window, lists of eligible candidates will be generated and sent to county directors.

Schedule interviews

Heads of institutions will use these lists to schedule interviews to be conducted by a panel comprising the chairperson of the board of management, head of the institution, a subject specialist and the TSC county director.

For schools without management boards, panellists will include TSC county director of representative, head of institution, a subject specialist and the parents’ association chairman.

“TSC county directors must ensure heads of institutions confirm online registration status of the applicants to avoid engaging unregistered and deregistered teachers,” the guidelines signed by TSC chief executive Nancy Macharia read.

The selection and interviews will take place between September 16 and 22 while complaints will be handled from September 23 to 25.

Graduate teachers should have a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination minimum mean grade of C+ and C+ in each subject.

Diploma teachers should have a minimum grade of C+ or its equivalent. The diploma should be from a recognised teacher training institution.

Diploma teachers who graduated in 2008 or before with a mean grade of C and C in the two teaching subjects are eligible.

Technical institution tutors are required to have minimum mean grade of C+ or its equivalent with at least C+ or credit pass in the two teaching subjects.

They should also have a Bachelor of Education degree in Technology or Bachelor of Science in any relevant subjects, a higher diploma in a technical course or a diploma of a technical course.