Promotion of teachers in Kenya: Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has maintained that higher academic qualification will not guarantee teachers promotion.

TSC Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia said teachers will only be promoted on the work they do and not extra academic qualifications.

On the fate of teachers who have attained higher academic qualifications, Mrs. Macharia said such qualification will be important for those seeking administrative positions such as head teachers and deputies.

She acknowledges that a good number of teachers have gone back to school but said they must earn promotions competitively.

“We have teachers with diplomas, degrees, masters and doctorate degrees. Job evaluation report conducted by Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) recommended that you are paid according to what job you are doing,” insisted Mrs. Macharia.

In 2018, the TSC announced that primary head teachers and their deputies must have a minimum of a first degree in education, while their secondary colleagues will be required to possess a master’s degree in education.

The announcement saw many teachers rush back to universities to safeguard their jobs or earn promotions. The country has about 23,000 heads in public primary schools and about 8,900 in secondary.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has been pushing for the promotion of teachers with higher academic qualifications and has already registered a dispute over the matter with the Labour ministry.

However, Mrs. Macharia said the acquisition of knowledge and skills should be a lifetime endeavour to enable teachers to operate within a dynamic professional context.

The commission has since developed career guidelines to replace the old schemes of service and had incorporated recommendations of a job evaluation report which is part of the 2017-2021 CBA.

According to the guidelines, promotion of teachers will be based on the existence of funded vacancies, minimum qualifications per grade and relevant teacher professional development modules. Others will be relevant experience and satisfactory performance.