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Schools will have a bigger hand in hiring new teachers according to newly issued stringent recruitment guidelines, also aimed at controlling corruption and political manipulation in the exercise.

In the rules by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and in a move aimed at keeping in check corruption and political manipulation which has hitherto been prevalent, the recruitment has further been decentralised to the sub-county level.

According to a TSC communication announcing the changes, notwithstanding the decentralisation of the function of teacher recruitment pursuant to parent law (TSC Act), the commission is not precluded in carrying out recruitment directly from Headquarters,

“The TSC regional directors shall ensure guidelines are adhered to within their regions; coordinate the teacher recruitment process within their respective regions, sensitise county directors and oversee the sensitisation of other officers,” the circular reads.

Priority areas

In the raft of recommendations, through a circular issued by the TSC Secretary and Chief Executive Nancy Macharia, the commission will give priority to qualifications and duration one has stayed out of employment after training, among other requirements.

For instance, a person who graduated more years ago and has never been hired will get priority over those who have been job-hunting for comparably less time after training. The same will apply to persons with higher grades

“Preference will be given to applicants who have not previously been employed by the commission on permanent and pensionable terms. It shall also be given to applicants from the respective sub-counties or counties,” the TSC says in the rules.

The rules also specify that serving interns will only be required to present their identity cards during the verification process whereas persons with disabilities shall be required to indicate their disability status together with the nature of disabilities to inform their placement.

In the event of a tie on the results of an interview, consideration for selection will be determined as per the order of priority including length of stay since graduation and strength of academic and professional certificates presented.

If applicants tie at aggregate grades, subject grades shall be considered then the names of interviewed applicants ranked in order of performance in the selection process for each vacancy shall be submitted to the commission by the TSC county director together with successful applicants’ recruitment documents.

“Any application for employment form filled or offer of employment issued based on misleading information provided by the applicant shall be cancelled immediately without any further reference to the candidate,” warns the circular, underscoring the seriousness of providing accurate and truthful information in the application process.

It also lists schools’ Board of Management Chairpersons, heads of the institutions, the relevant subject specialist or head of department, chairpersons or members of the Parent Association (PA) and the TSC sub-county director or a representative, among the interviewing panellists.

The guidelines come as TSC placed advertisements for teacher recruitment across the country, an exercise that, the commission says, selection panels are expected to uphold the highest standards of transparency and accountability.

Coming recruitment

“Following the advertisement for recruitment of teachers, Regional Director, Nairobi, County Directors and Sub-County Directors are required to conduct the selection exercise for the advertised vacancy (ies),” one such advertisement read.

According to the guidelines, selection panels are expected to uphold the highest standards of transparency and accountability and are bound by the Public Officer Ethics Act, and TSC Code of Conduct and Ethics (CoCE, 2015).

“Applicants must submit their applications to the Secretary, Teachers Service Commission through the online platform… where vacancies have been declared,” the guidelines state.

The rules indicate that TSC regional directors shall induct TSC county directors within their areas, who, in turn, shall induct members of the selection panels involved in the recruitment process.

The areas of induction will include the relevant sections of the TSC Act and the Code of Regulations for Teachers (CORT, 2015) before the commencement of the selection.