TSC calls for redistribution of teachers ahead of new staffing rollout

Schools holding more teachers than they require have been asked to release them for deployment to institutions struggling with acute staffing gaps, as the Teachers Service Commission moves to balance teacher distribution across the country.

TSC Chief Executive Officer Evaleen Mitei said the commission is putting the final touches on a new staffing framework that will guide how teachers are allocated in schools under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system. The framework is part of wider education reforms aimed at ensuring all learners receive quality education regardless of their location.

Addressing principals during the 49th Kenya Senior School Heads Association annual national conference in Mombasa, Mitei said disparities in teacher allocation remain a major challenge, with some schools having more tutors than they need while others operate without enough teaching staff.

She said the commission has already developed the staffing model but is still reviewing it before rolling it out nationwide.

According to Mitei, school heads have a key role to play in helping the commission make better use of available teachers by allowing those in excess to be transferred to schools facing shortages.

“While it is still being looked at, we expect that this will help us to rationalise teachers. There are schools that still have excess teachers within their institutions, while your neighbours have no teachers. This is an area we are calling upon you to help us so that we can be able to have teachers optimally utilised,” Mitei said.

She noted that a more balanced distribution of teachers will ensure learners across the country have equal opportunities to access teaching and learning.

Mitei said the staffing framework is expected to ease teacher shortages in many schools while at the same time improving learner-teacher ratios.

She added that the initiative is designed to support fairness in the education sector by directing teachers to areas where they are most needed.

“Through this intervention, TSC contributes to equity, inclusion and improved learning outcomes particularly in the marginalised and starved areas,” Mitei said.

The commission expects the new approach to strengthen teacher utilisation and support improved learning outcomes, especially in regions that have for years faced a shortage of teaching staff.