Teachers Service Commission advertises 20,000 new JSS positions

The Teachers Service Commission has advertised a mass recruitment of 20,000 internship positions in junior secondary schools.

This initiative aims to bolster the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) across the nation.

The recruitment comes just a week after TSC advertised 46,000 junior school teachers on permanent terms.

In a notice on Tuesday, the commission announced that interested candidates are encouraged to apply online through the TSC website, www.tsc.go.ke, or teachersonline.tsc.go.ke by midnight on November 4, 2024.

To be eligible, applicants must meet the following criteria: they must be Kenyan citizens and hold at least a Diploma in Education.

Additionally, they should have a minimum mean grade of C+ in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), as well as a C+ in two teaching subjects or their equivalent.

Finally, applicants must be registered teachers with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).

Manual applications will not be considered, and candidates must be unemployed and without any disciplinary record with the commission.

"This internship programme is designed to equip new teachers with essential skills through mentorship and practical experience," reads the notice.

Successful candidates will be placed in junior secondary schools either in their home counties or wherever vacancies exist.

Interns will teach various subjects under the Junior School Curriculum for a duration of twelve months.

While the internship is unpaid, participants will receive a monthly stipend of Sh20,000, minus statutory deductions.

In addition to the application, candidates must present original academic and professional certificates during verification.

They will also need to provide a Teacher Registration Certificate, a National ID or Passport, and a copy of their KRA Personal Identification Number (PIN).

On completion of the internship, participants will be awarded a certificate, marking their experience and contribution to the teaching profession.

TSC CEO Nancy Macharia (centre) appears before the National Assembly Education Committee on Wednesday, October 23, 2024. (Photo: Parliament)

The TSC said it was committed to promoting equal opportunities and encourages persons with disabilities to apply.

It also warned potential applicants about fraudsters who may attempt to extort money under the guise of assisting with the recruitment process.

Applicants should report any suspicious activity to the nearest TSC office or local police station.

For more details, including available vacancies per county, visit the TSC website at www.tsc.go.ke.

Appearing before the National Assembly last week, CEO of the commission, Nancy Macharia told the Education Committee of the National Assembly that the country faces a shortage of teachers, especially in sciences.

She said that science teachers would be given a preference during the recruitment exercise.

"I have never denied the fact that, as a country, we have a crisis and we need to look for ways to address it. We have to agree that there is a shortage of science teachers. When advertisements for physics teachers are made, nobody applies," the TSC boss told the committee chaired by Tinderet MP Julius Melly.

The commission confirmed that the commission had received funding to recruit the teachers on contract, commonly referred to as interns.

They will be posted to schools in January 2025.

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) had also confirmed that the recruitment of the 20,000 junior school teachers had featured in its negotiations with the TSC.

The announcement was made by Kuppet Secretary-General Akello Misori last Friday when he closed the Kilifi branch general assembly in Kaloleni.

Kuppet and TSC have been engaged in talks since they signed a return-to-work formula in September following a nationwide strike that had been called by the union.

"I am proud to say that the union has won more than 80 per cent of our demands. As I speak here, the TSC is finalising the recruitment of 20,000 new teachers for junior school. This recruitment will be strictly for science teachers. The advertisement will be published on October 29, 2024, giving eligible teachers one week to apply," said Misori.

In addition, the commission said it received 314,117 applications for 46,000 advertised teacher posts between October 1 and 8, 2024.

TSC CEO said of these applications, 93,646 were for primary teacher posts against the 6,000 advertised, while 144, 177 were for junior secondary school (JSS) teachers against the 39,550 posts advertised.

TSC further received 76,294 applications for the 450 secondary school teacher posts it advertised.