The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has started the process that will see at least 1,645 junior secondary school (JSS) intern teachers get replaced.
These are part of the 20,000 JSS intern teachers recruited and posted to schools in January but have secured replacement jobs in the recent advertised slots.
In an internal memo the TSC has ordered immediate release of the teachers with County Directors tasked with forwarding crucial details on the teachers by the primary school headteachers to the Commission headquarters.
Additional data was requested from the primary school headteachers who are also principals of junior schools in acting capacity.
Details which were required and were submitted in an excel template included enrolment and gender in Grades 7, 8 and 9, number of JSS teachers and their subjects combination and their gender
The Commission will have to balance out staff to address shortage especially of science teachers which has been a headache for schools.
TSC is planning immediate replacement exercise to ensure minimal disruption to learning in schools left by the intern teachers.
Some schools have already released the JSS intern teachers to report to their new schools.
TSC will stop payment of stipend for the teachers who are now transitioning to secondary schools on permanent and pensionable terms.
The 1,645 JSS intern teachers successfully secured replacement teaching jobs in secondary schools out of the 5,862 advertised slots.
On Wednesday this week the Commission started to release appointment letters for the teachers who were recruited to replace those who exited service through natural attrition.
TSC had carried out vetting exercise from 17th to 28th February 2025 which entailed documents verification for shortlisted applicants.
Those taken proceeded with filling of employment forms and were waiting for their posting.
TSC has now issued appointment letters which will now be followed by posting letters that will be issued by the Sub County Directors.
The Commission has however made it mandatory for the teachers to register into Social Health Authority (SHA) by signing into https://afyayangu.go.ke before taken up their new roles
In the replacements which is on permanent and pensionable terms TSC declared 5,862 posts for primary schools, 21 posts for junior schools and 2,824 posts for secondary schools.
A number of things played out in this year’s teacher replacement exercise. Intern teachers were allowed to apply for the advertised slots, a paradigm shift from the previous years.
The interns were awarded 50 marks in the replacement scoresheet regardless of the period served.
A total of 20,000 JSS teachers were hired and posted to schools early January for a one year internship term.
In the replacement non-local teachers faced it rough as TSC locked them out. The Commission prioritized employment of all local teachers regardless of their score.
Priority was first given to local teachers from the sub county then those from within the county then those from within the region before tossing the opportunities for teachers from other counties to try.
In this replacement exercise there was a surge in the number of JSS teachers wanting to transition to secondary schools.
The surge in interest for secondary school jobs has been driven by dissatisfaction in working in the primary school environment.
Majority of the JSS teachers cite heavy workloads, unclear career growth, poor infrastructure and facilities and lack of motivation.
For primary school teachers the Commission awarded 5 marks to holders of PTE certificates who upgraded to UDPTE.
The advert to replace the intern teachers will be released immediately the teachers employment process is completed.