Teachers urge Ruto to confirm Evaleen Mitei as TSC CEO, citing reforms achieved during her tenure

Teachers have urged President William Ruto to fast-track the appointment of Evaleen Mitei as the substantive Chief Executive Officer of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), saying she has delivered key reforms during her one-year tenure as acting CEO.

Speaking during a press briefing on Monday, teachers from the Nairobi Cosmopolitan Hub said Mitei has exceeded expectations since taking over the leadership of the commission following the retirement of Nancy Macharia in June 2025.

The teachers appealed to both the TSC Board and President Ruto to formally confirm Mitei as the commission's CEO, citing her role in improving TSC operations and advancing major programmes affecting teachers.

They said that during her tenure as acting CEO, Mitei had overseen significant reforms, including safeguarding the commission's autonomy, promoting more than 30,000 teachers, absorbing 20,000 intern teachers into permanent and pensionable employment, and spearheading the implementation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

"To safeguard these historic forms, ensure administrative continuity, and eliminate the anxiety of a leadership vacuum. We urgently appeal to the board and call for the intervention of His Excellency the President to fast-track the formal confirmation of Ms Evaleen Mitei as the substantive Chief Executive Officer of the Teachers Service Commission," the tutors said.

They also credited her with ensuring fairness in teacher deployments.

"She has ensured that deployments are strictly guided by TSC regulations, shielding teachers from local political victimisation."

The teachers further praised Mitei for supporting the implementation of education reforms under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system and promoting equity in teacher recruitment and staffing.

"She enforced progressive staffing policies resulting in an unprecedented 51% to 49% female-to-male ratio across the teaching service, making TSC the largest employer in the country to achieve actual gender parity," they said.

They also said Mitei had curbed corruption in teacher recruitment by digitising the employment process, eliminating the illegal sale of TSC employment forms and ensuring merit-based hiring.

"She tamed the illegal hawking of TSC employment forms through digitisation and ensured qualified young Kenyans secure jobs based entirely on merit," they added.

The teachers added that the acting CEO had identified and resolved payroll anomalies within the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Database (IPPD), improving the management and accuracy of teachers' records.

Mitei has more than 31 years of experience in the education sector. She holds a Master of Science in Human Resource Management from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Education degree from Moi University.

She began her career as a classroom teacher in 1994 before joining the TSC Secretariat in 1999. She later rose through the ranks to become Director of Teacher Discipline Management before being appointed acting CEO.