TSC Starts P1 Teacher Deployment To JSS To Address Grade 9 Shortage.
The pioneer class will enter grade 9 in January, and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will designate trained PTE teachers to help with instruction in junior secondary schools (JSS) early the following year.
Qualified primary school teachers can apply online when TSC posts job opportunities. The Commission is under pressure to address an imminent teacher crisis, as the junior secondary teacher-to-class ratio is currently 1:1;
P1 instructors have been promoted by the Commission since 2019 in response to several complaints of stagnation from primary school teachers who improved their academic credentials.
A total of 1,000 P1 teachers were assigned to secondary schools annually in 2019–2020 and 2021, while about 8,378 teachers were sent to JSS in 2022–2024 to work with the first cohorts of the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).
The Commission CEO, Dr. Nancy Macharia, described their readiness for the move to Grade 9 during an appearance before the Parliamentary Committee on Education. She noted that the Commission had hired 48,550 teachers in the last two fiscal years.
Of these, 9,000 were hired on a permanent basis, while 39,550 were interns. Additionally, during the past two years, 8,378 primary school teachers have been sent to JSS, bringing the total number of JSS instructors to 56,928.
For the grade 9 class in junior secondary schools, TSC hired 20,000 teachers for internships in November of this year.
The requirements for teaching in JSS have been stringent according to TSC. To be eligible for deployment to junior school, a candidate must have a secondary option degree with a C+ in the KCSE and a C+ in each of the two teaching courses.
To alleviate the acute teacher shortage in JSS, the Commission has lately made suggestions on reducing the deployment academic standards.
This comes after it produced lists of P1 instructors with different diplomas and degrees from its database that were eligible to be assigned to grade nine.
The Heads of Institutions (HOIs) of the primary schools provided TSC with more information about the teachers.
TSC requested that primary school heads fill out an Excel template containing the teachers’ KCSE mean grade, specialization (e.g., BED ARTS, BED Primary option, BED SCIENCE, BED ECDE, BED SNE), as well as two teaching courses with mean grades for secondary option teachers.
The accompanying memo, which was issued by TSC Director of Staffing Antonina Lentoijoni, outlines the procedures for teacher posting and vetting during the deployment exercise.
DEPLOYMENT OF PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS TO JUNIOR SCHOOLS
VETTING
Sub-County Directors should invite the candidates for verification of documents. Candidates are expected to present the following documents during verification:
i) Original and copy of the degree/diploma certificate;
ii) Original and copies of the academic transcripts;
iii) Original and copy of SNE qualification (where applicable);
iv) Original and copy of the KCSE certificate (or its equivalent);
v) A copy of the current payslip;
vi) A declaration by the Head of Institution that the teacher is currently serving in the school and is neither serving an interdiction nor undergoing a disciplinary process.
DEPLOYMENT
Deployment letters will be signed by the Sub-County Directors for teachers within the SubCounty.
For teachers who may be deployed outside the Sub-County, letters will be signed by the County Directors/Regional Director, Nairobi.
Consideration should be given to the following: –
i. Proximity to the current station. As much as possible, the teachers should be deployed to their current stations or those that are close to their current stations.
ii. Subject Combination of the teacher. Unless a station requires more than one teacher of the same subject combination, Sub-County Directors should not deploy teachers of similar subject combinations with those already posted to JS.
iii. Gender of the teacher. Endeavor to balance the gender of teachers posted to the same station.
iv. Teachers with SNE qualification should be posted to Special JS.
v. Deployment will be done using the templates shared. It is important to study the templates and where necessary seek clarification.
The Sub-County Director shall sign two deployment letters for each teacher. One letter shall be issued to the teacher while the second original letter shall be submitted together with other deployment documents for filing at the headquarters.
As you conduct the deployment exercise, note the following:
Teachers at Grades B5 and C1 who hold a Bachelor’s degree will be issued appointment letters to Grade C2 (Appendix I).
Teachers at Grade B5 who hold a Diploma in Education will be issued appointment letters to Grade Cl (Appendix Il).
Teachers at Grade C2 who hold a Bachelor’s degree and were promoted on or before 26th March 2021 will be issued with appointment letters for Grade C3 (Appendix 111).
Teachers at Grade Cl who hold a Diploma Certificate and were promoted on or before 26th March 2021 will be issued with appointment letters to Grade C2 (Appendix IV).
Teachers at Grade Cl who hold a Diploma Certificate and have not completed three or more years will be issued with deployment letters. Additionally, teachers who hold a Diploma Certificate and at Grade C2 and above will be issued with deployment letters (Appendix V).
Teachers at Grades C3 and above who hold a Bachelors degree will be issued with deployment letters. (Appendix V).
POSTING, ENTRY/EXIT REPORTS MODULE
i. Immediately the teachers are deployed to JS, the County Directors shall initiate posting on the Posting, Entry/ Exit Reports Module to the Sub-County. The Sub-County Director shall post the teachers to JS.
ii. The Heads of Institution releasing the teachers must immediately exit them through the submission of Exit Reports to enable the receiving Head of Institution to submit the Entry Report.
iii. All these processes must be conducted online through the Posting, Entry/Exit Reports Module as the Commission no longer recognizes nor process hard copy casualties.
iv. Where the teacher is retained in the same station, the Head of Institution shall exit the teacher from primary school and submit Entry Report for the JS.
SUBMISSION OF DEPLOYMENT DOCUMENTS
After the conclusion of the deployment exercise, the following documents shall be submitted to the Director Staffing by County Directors/Regional Director, Nairobi:
i) Certified copy of the degree/diploma certificate;
ii) Certified copy of the academic transcripts;
iii) Certified copy of the KCSE certificate or its equivalent;
iv) Original copy of the Deployment letter generated as per the template issued;
v) A declaration by the Head of Institution that the teacher is currently serving in the school and is neither serving an interdiction nor undergoing a disciplinary process;
vi) List of the deployed teachers clearly showing teacher’s details in the order presented below should be submitted in MS Excel editable format to Director Staffing through dirstaffing@tsc.go.ke. (Appendix VII)
Serial Number (S/No.)
Registration Number (TSC No.)
Teacher’s Name
Teacher’s Grade (B5, C1, C2, C3, C4 C5)
Gender
Disability Status
Previous Station (Primary)
Current Station (JSS)
Sub-County Posted
County vii) A summary report on deployment (Appendix VIII)
STAFFING POSITIONS IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS
You are required to ensure that staffing positions in primary schools are updated and teacher rationalization is conducted within 14 days after deployment to ensure that teaching/learning process continues.
ANTONINA LENTOIJONI
Ag. DIRECTOR STAFFING
TSC Starts P1 Teacher Deployment To JSS To Address Grade 9 Shortage.
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