A third phase of teacher deployment to special schools and units will be initiated by the Teachers Service Commission.
3,600 teachers are the aim of the deployments, which began with the first phase in September of last year.
In order to combat the threat, TSC disclosed that certain special schools are severely understaffed and that it will deploy a portion of the 18,057 extra instructors employed by elementary schools.
According to Macharia, 3,600 teachers from primary and secondary schools will be sent by TSC to work in special schools and units.
While appearing before the Cohesion and Equal Opportunities Committee last year, Macharia said the deployments will be done in phases for lack of funds.
The first phase happened in September 2024. The second phase happened in January 2025 and the third deployment phase will happen in June this year.
The Commission is targeting teachers with Diplomas and Degree in Special Needs Education (SNE).
“Due to budget constraints, the Commission has developed a phased deployment of teachers to Special needs schools to address the shortage,” Macharia told the Committee led by Hon Adan Haji.
The Committee was also informed that the Special Needs Schools in the country were facing a shortage of 5,362 teachers.
Macharia explained that TSC hired and deployed 1,763 teachers to schools in the month of May 2024.
Primary school teachers with Diplomas in SNE will be posted to serve in primary school special schools and units inline with their areas of specialization.
Teachers details were already captured and sent to TSC Curriculum Support Officers (CSO) for processing of the deployment.
Details collected from the teachers included; Teacher Name and TSC Number, County, Sub County, Zone, Current School, Proposed Special School or Unit, Phone Number, Area of SNE training (HI, VI, MH, AUTISM, CP, DEAF BLIND).
Also this week TSC activated online application portal for deployment of primary school teachers to junior secondary school (JSS).
TSC listed requirements primary school teachers must have for their deployment to work in JSS.
The Commission has listed both academic qualifications and documents that are mandatory for the deployment process.
P1 teachers who meet the minimum requirements can visit the online portal where they will input TSC number, ID number and surname before proceeding to place an application.
TSC plans to deploy at least 6,000 PTE teachers to JSS this year as it seeks to address a 72,422 teacher shortage.
Last year TSC advertised 6,000 deployment slots for serving primary school teachers with diploma and degree in secondary option to apply online by 18th March 2024.
In a press statement on Saturday CS Education Julius Migos said “qualified primary school teachers will be deployed to junior schools to progressively ensure that each school is adequately staffed”.
TSC CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia recently revealed that the Commission requires a total of 149,350 teachers to handle Grade 7, 8 and 9.
Macharia said currently TSC has employed 76,928 teachers in junior secondary representing 51.5% of the requirement.
So far a total of 8,378 primary school teachers were deployed to serve in junior secondary in last two years.
The Commission is under pressure to address a looming teacher crisis in JSS in January as currently the teacher to class ratio is 1:1;
The Commission has been deploying P1 teachers since 2019 as a form of promotion after numerous complaints of stagnation from primary school teachers who upgraded their academic certificates.
In 2019, 2020 and 2021 a total of 1,000 P1 teachers were deployed each year to secondary schools while in 2022 to 2024 around 8,378 teachers were deployed to serve the first cohorts of the CBC in JSS.
Nancy Macharia had said the Commission introduced phased deployment of teachers to address teacher shortage in learning institutions.
Primary School teachers wishing to be deployed to JSS must be qualified to teach in secondary schools. The teacher MUST meet the following requirements:
i) Have an active registration as a teacher with the Teachers Service Commission.
ii) Is employed as a primary school teacher with the Teachers Service Commission
iii) Should not be currently serving an interdiction or undergoing a disciplinary process.
iv) Have a minimum of a Diploma in Education with a minimum of C+ at KCSE (or it’s equivalent) with C+ in two teaching subjects currently being offered in the school curriculum (either under 8-4-4 or CBC) or two (2) principles and one (1) subsidiary pass at “A” Level.
At least 8 units in each of the two teaching subjects.
Those with a minimum of C (plain) at KCSE (or its equivalent) and have undertaken a Diploma in Education together with a Bachelor Degree in Education qualify.
v) The degree certificate must be Bachelor of Education. Bachelor of Education (Primary Option) holders are not eligible.
Candidates are expected to present the following documents during verification exercise:
i) Original and copy of the degree/diploma certificate;
ii) Original and copies of the academic transcripts;
iii) Original and copy of SNE qualification (where applicable);
iv) Original and copy of the KCSE certificate (or its equivalent);
v) A copy of the current payslip;
vi) A declaration by the Head of Institution that the teacher is currently serving in the school and is neither serving an interdiction nor undergoing a disciplinary process.