Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has addressed the recruitment of Primary One (P1) teachers, outlining the qualifications and recruitment rules used by the Teacher Service Commission (TSC) as teachers continue to await employment opportunities.
Appearing before the Senate on Wednesday, October 7, Ogamba said the recruitment of primary school teachers is guided by the Constitution, the TSC Act, the Code of Regulations for Teachers, the 2022 Policy on Teacher Recruitment and Selection, and annual recruitment guidelines issued by the commission.
He said candidates seeking appointment as primary school teachers must meet specific academic and professional requirements before they can be considered for employment.
“A candidate seeking appointment as a primary school teacher must be a Kenyan, must hold a P1 teacher certificate from a recognized institution, must have attained a mean grade of C plain in KCSE or its equivalent, and must be registered as a teacher by the TSC,” Ogamba told the Senate.
Ogamba Addresses P1 Teacher Recruitment
The CS said TSC advertises available vacancies through the print media and its website, after which eligible applicants submit their applications online.
Those who meet the requirements are then invited for document verification and selection at the sub-county level.
Ogamba said the recruitment process is designed to promote fairness and ensure vacancies are distributed across different areas.
He listed six measures used by TSC, including decentralized recruitment, standardized scoring, equitable distribution of vacancies and a 5% reservation for persons with disabilities.
The process also considers gender balance and gives preference to qualified local =applicants to promote teacher retention and regional representation.
According to the CS, the preference for qualified local applicants is intended to improve teacher retention while ensuring equitable regional representation.
“The commission advertises vacancies through the print media and the commission website. Eligible applicants submit applications online and are invited for document verification and selection at the sub-county level,” he said.
Latest Recruitment of P1 Teachers
Ogamba was also asked about the latest recruitment and absorption of P1 teachers.
In response, he said he had provided a table showing the latest graduation dates of teachers who had been absorbed into the P1 teaching service.
The table, according to the CS, showed that the oldest graduation year among the teachers absorbed was 2019, while the latest was 2025.
Ogamba did not go through all the entries in the table during his response, telling senators that the information had already been provided.
The response comes as P1-trained teachers continue to look to TSC recruitment exercises for opportunities to enter the teaching service.
KUPPET Renews Push to Hire Unemployed P1 Teachers
This comes as teachers renew calls for reforms in the teaching profession demanding for the employment of unemployed P1 teachers.
Speaking during the World Teachers’ Day celebrations, Kenya Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) chairman Omboko Milema called for the employment of P1 teachers who have remained outside the teaching service for years, particularly those aged 45 and above.
“With the employment of teachers we thank you, but a handful are remaining who are not Kuppet members but are primary school teachers who are 45 years and over. They are getting old without getting employed,” he said.
The government has also continued to focus on teacher staffing in junior schools, with Ogamba telling senators that funding had been provided for the recruitment of 20,000 junior school teachers on permanent and pensionable terms effective January 1, 2027.
He said the government would continue engaging the National Treasury and other stakeholders to secure additional resources for the gradual absorption of the remaining 24,000 junior school teacher interns into permanent and pensionable service.
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