The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has begun deploying PTE (Primary Teachers Education) teachers to secondary schools.
This results from TSC’s official communication with the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT).
The Chief Executive Officer of TSC, Dr. Nancy Macharia, stated that with the implementation of the competency-based curriculum, additional teachers will be assigned to Junior Secondary.
Collins Oyuu, secretary general of Knut, remarked that the deployment process is ongoing.
“‘The process of deployment started long ago. It has been an ongoing process in readiness for the next year’s Junior Secondary transition,’’ Oyuu said.
The commission sent five deployment letters to Nairobi County, while Kilifi, Kiambu, Makueni, Embu, and Kajiado counties each received three. The county of Nakuru received two.
TSC had established qualifications for instructors to be assigned to teach in Junior Secondary.
TSC added that it will provide training for the instructors who will be assigned to Junior secondary schools.
This year, the teachers’ organization did not advertise for the deployment positions, but instead used a merit list compiled from prior applications to deploy the PTE teachers.
In 2019 and 2020, TSC offered 1,000 deployment positions in an effort to fill the teacher shortage, stressing that the teachers will assist with the 100 percent primary-to-secondary school transition.
TSC employs deployment as a form of advancement for primary school teachers with advanced degrees.
Members of Parliament exerted pressure on TSC to permit the promotion of teachers with a KCSE mean grade of C or below, as well as those with a diploma, postgraduate diploma, or degree from a recognized learning institution.
However, TSC increased the requirements for teachers who seek to teach in Junior Secondary.
In addition to being a Kenyan citizen, candidates must possess a P1 certificate and a bachelor’s degree in education with two teaching disciplines.
In addition to possessing a degree with a secondary option, deployed teachers must have at least a C+ in KCSE and a C+ in the topics they teach while serving under TSC.
Unbeknownst to the majority, a subset of primary school teachers enrolled in universities to pursue degree-level options despite earning a C (simple) average on their KCSE tests
During their tenure, institutions such as Nairobi, Kenyatta, Pwani, and Mount Kenya registered and delivered lectures to students with a mean grade of C (plain) on the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), who also held a PTE certificate.
Those who were deployed began at employment grade C2 with a minimum compensation scale of Sh34,955 and a maximum of Sh43,694 per month.
In addition, they receive a yearly commuter allowance of Sh5,000, a home allowance of Sh7,500 if they do not reside in a municipality, and a leave allowance of Sh6,000.
Those living in disadvantaged regions receive an additional hardship stipend of Sh10,900.
According to Career Progression Guidelines for Teachers, the teacher will advance to job grade C3 upon completion of three years (CPG).
