Jobless primary school teachers, commonly known as P1 teachers can only dream of TSC employment as the the commission continue giving their employment a wide berth. With the new 24,000 internship posts waiting to filled in Junior Schools come next year, primary school hopefuls have little to smile about, as their wait continues. The tutors have cited unfairness in recruitments, where the employer has largely prioritised graduate teachers to staff Junior Secondary Schools (JSS).
Photo: Interim TSC Chief Excutive Officer Ms Everline Mitei
Credit: Courtesy
But is JSS really to blame for the plight of P1 teachers? On the surface, the commission might seem justified. Yet, a closer look reveals that the JSS transition has been poorly conceived and even more poorly misconstrued as the reason for lack of recruitment in primary schools . Here’s why.
A Long-Running Shortage....
Kenya’s public education sector has grappled with teacher shortages since before independence. Successive governments have attempted to close the gap, but the ideal student–teacher ratio remains elusive.
The rollout of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) only deepened the crisis. The new curriculum demands more than the traditional transfer of knowledge — it focuses on developing skills, values, and attitudes. It also introduced new learning areas with broader scope compared to the old 8-4-4 system, which was largely theoretical.
Naturally, this shift required greater investment in human capital. Teachers — now referred to as facilitators under CBC — became central to the success of the new system. But that investment has not been forthcoming.
A Misguided Assumption at Jogoo House..
The CBC framework reduced the number of years a learner spends in primary school from eight to six. Policy makers at Jogoo House took this as a cue to freeze hiring of P1 teachers, assuming the workload had dropped.Nothing could be further from the truth.The shortage of teachers in primary schools remains as dire as ever. In fact, more teachers are needed now to meet the diverse and individualised learning needs of pupils under CBC — a system anchored on nurturing talents and promoting self-sustainability.
A high teacher-to-pupil ratio makes genuine skill development impossible. The goals outlined in the Basic Education Curriculum Framework are rendered unattainable when teachers are stretched thin.
Recruitment Is a Continuous Process....
Even if one accepted the argument of reduced workload, teacher recruitment should never be a one-off exercise. Every month, thousands of teachers leave the service through natural attrition, mainly retirements. These inevitable exits demand regular replacement.
The TSC used to advertised replacement positions quarterly. Today, that practice seems to have quietly disappeared. The commission has either abandoned it or adopted opaque methods that deny transparency and fairness.
Opaque Practices and Lost Trust...
The frustration among P1 teachers is fuelled by perceptions — and in some cases, credible reports — that replacement vacancies are no longer filled through open advertisement. Instead, the process is increasingly viewed as influenced by political connections and favoritism.
If these claims hold water, they point to a serious erosion of professionalism within a commission that was constitutionally established to operate independently.
When pressed on the matter, the TSC often claims to rely on “existing merit lists” for replacements. Yet, there is little public visibility or accountability around this process. What was once an open and merit-based system now appears shrouded in mystery.
The JSS Scapegoat...
Linking P1 unemployment to the establishment of JSS is, at best, a convenient excuse. The commission can still create significant employment opportunities by simply reinstating transparent, regular replacement exercises in the primary section.
The JSS narrative is therefore not the problem — policy inconsistency and lack of transparency are.
The TSC must return to the spirit of fairness, accountability, and independence. The commission’s credibility — and the livelihoods of thousands of trained teachers — depend on it.
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