Kenya's TSC Opens 7,720 Permanent Teaching Jobs, With Applications Closing November 23

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has opened 7,720 teaching vacancies on permanent and pensionable terms to replace teachers who have left the service through natural attrition. The posts are made up of 5,609 positions in primary schools, 25 in junior schools and 2,086 in secondary schools, and the portal will close at midnight on Monday, November 23, 2026. Applicants must be Kenyan citizens who are already registered teachers with the commission, and manual applications would be rejected. For Metaintro readers who trained as teachers and are still waiting for a permanent post, this guide covers who qualifies, how to register and apply, how posting works, and how to avoid people who promise a job for a fee.

What Exactly Has the TSC Advertised?

The advert was published on Tuesday, November 10, and the same day the commission shared a notice inviting eligible teachers to apply. These are replacement posts, filling vacancies left by those who have exited the service, and the round is part of its effort to address staffing gaps created by teachers leaving the service through retirement and other forms of natural attrition.

Successful applicants will be employed on permanent and pensionable terms of service.

Primary posts are the largest share of the recruitment. The commission has also published the details of available vacancies, broken down by county and sub-county on its website, so applicants can see where the openings are before they fill in the form.

Who Can Apply for These Teaching Posts?

To qualify, applicants must be Kenyan citizens, registered teachers with the Commission, and possess the required academic and professional qualifications.

The minimum qualification depends on the level you are applying for.

• Primary school posts need a minimum of a Primary Teacher Education (P1) certificate.
• Junior school and secondary school posts need a minimum Diploma in Education.
• Candidates with equivalent qualifications have been advised to consult the commission's website for clarification on which requirements apply to them.

Two further points shape who gets picked. Preference goes to applicants who had not previously been employed by the commission, so first-time entrants are favoured over former TSC staff. The commission also encouraged persons with disabilities to apply, describing itself as an equal opportunity employer in line with the Constitution and the law.

What If You Do Not Have a TSC Number Yet?

Registration comes first. Under article 237 of the Constitution of Kenya and Section 23 of the Teachers Service Commission Act, it is an offence for any person to engage in the teaching service unless that person is registered as a teacher.

New registration starts on the Teachers Online Services portal, where citizens choose New Teacher Registration. The first sign-up screen asks for your ID number, surname, personal mobile phone number, KRA PIN, category (ECD, Primary or Post Primary), KCSE grade, the year you sat KCSE and a confirmation that you are a trained teacher.

Step 4 of TSC teacher registration asks for these documents.

• ID or passport, KRA PIN, payment evidence and a GP 69 medical letter
• A certificate of good conduct, transcripts in one PDF and a passport photo
• An affidavit if any of the names differ or are missing in the documents
• A certificate for persons with disability, and clearance from the Commission for Higher Education

You must also upload your primary certificate, secondary certificate and tertiary certificates before the system lets you move on. In the final step, the form asks for payment details, scores of main and other subject plus the number of hours trained for each subject. Registration applications are processed within 30 days of the date of submission, while this recruitment window closes on the date given above.

How Do You Apply, and What Gets an Application Thrown Out?

Applications go online through the Commission's official website under the Careers section, or through its dedicated recruitment portal, teachersonline.tsc.go.ke. Through the portal you can apply for any post you qualify and gives you the opportunity to track every stage of processing upto Appointment, and an online application means you don't need to submit a hard copy version to the Commission.

Two rules can knock an application out.

• Applying on paper. Manual applications shall not be considered, the commission said.
• Filling in more than one form. Successful candidates shall complete only one Application for Employment Form. Completion of more than one form shall result in disqualification, the notice states.

Teachers who already hold a TSC number are NOT expected to register again with the Commission. Questions on adverts and promotions go to 020-2892000, and registration questions go to 020-2892351.

Successful candidates may be posted to any part of the country and not necessarily to the county or school where they were interviewed, the Teachers Service Commission said in its notice, according to the Kenyans.co.ke news report.

How Will Selection, Interviews and Posting Work?

Shortlisting leads to interviews, and successful candidates are expected to undergo interviews before filling the positions. At that stage, shortlisted candidates will also be required to present original academic and professional certificates, so keep the originals ready, not only scans.

The commission's 2026-27 financial year recruitment guidelines apply to the whole exercise.

Successful candidates should be prepared for deployment anywhere in the country, not necessarily in the county or school where they were interviewed. The exception is junior school, where teachers recruited shall be posted to the specific schools where the vacancies arose.

Missing out this time is not the end of the road. The merit lists generated from the recruitment exercise would be used for subsequent recruitment within the 2026/2027 financial year, which means candidates who are not placed now could still be considered for other available opportunities during the financial year, subject to the commission's recruitment requirements.

How Can You Spot a Recruitment Scam?

The rule is simple. The recruitment exercise is free of charge.

Anyone who offers to get you onto the list for a fee is the kind of person the commission warns about. The commission has cautioned applicants against individuals demanding money in exchange for assistance or promises of employment.

Suspected fraud should go to the nearest TSC office, the commission's headquarters or the police. The commission also listed the Director of Staffing on 0202892193 and the Deputy Director of Staffing on 0202892131 as contacts for fraud cases.

Keep one difference in mind. Teacher registration is a separate process, and its upload list includes payment evidence. Applying online for one of the advertised posts needs no payments of any kind, so any demand for money linked to a job offer, an interview slot or a posting is a red flag.

The recruitment exercise is free of charge. The Teachers Service Commission forewarns applicants against fraudsters who might extort money from unsuspecting persons purporting to assist in recruitment, the commission said in its advertisement, according to the Daily Nation report.

How Does This Round Compare With Last Year's Replacement Advert?

In a notice dated Tuesday, November 25, 2025, the commission ran a similar round and declared 9,159 vacancies to replace teachers who exited service through natural attrition.

That round had 7,065 posts for primary schools, 12 posts for junior schools, and 2,082 posts for secondary schools, with applications due not later than December 8, 2025, at midnight.

Several rules are the same. The 2025 round also required a minimum of a P1 certificate in the case of primary schools and a diploma in education in the case of junior schools and secondary schools, applied the recruitment guidelines for the 2025/2026 financial year, and gave the same preference to applicants who have not previously been employed by the commission. Under that notice, all successful candidates will be posted to serve in any part of the country, filling out two or more Application for Employment Forms will lead to disqualification, and merit lists generated during this recruitment for both primary and secondary schools will be used in subsequent recruitment processes within the financial year.

Are These Posts Part of the 20,000 Extra Teachers Promised for December?

No. The replacements are distinct from the 20,000 additional teachers the government plans to hire by December 2026 to expand the teaching workforce. This round is part of the commission's routine replacement exercise and does not represent an additional intake of teachers. Replacing teachers who have left maintains existing staffing levels, while recruiting additional teachers expands the workforce to address the existing shortage.

The extra hiring is a pledge President William Ruto made at the World Teachers' Day celebrations at Kasarani on October 5. He said the additional recruitment would bring the number of teachers hired under his administration to 120,000, and said the teacher shortage stood at 116,000 when his administration took office.

Interns are on a different track again. Ruto also announced that the government had set aside Sh 4.9 billion (about $37.7 million at the ExchangeRate-API rate for November 12). The money is set aside to convert 20,000 teachers who have served under the internship programme for two years to permanent and pensionable terms from January 2027. That conversion is separate from this replacement round.

The commission has run bigger rounds. In July, it advertised 20,000 permanent and pensionable positions for junior school teachers, and a month later came 35,550 teaching opportunities, comprising 10,000 permanent and pensionable positions in primary and secondary schools and 25,550 internship positions.

What Are Teachers Already in Service Asking For?

Ruto directed the TSC to raise the number of teachers earmarked for promotion in the 2026/2027 financial year from 34,000 to 50,000, after the commission had advertised 34,016 promotion vacancies.

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) wants far more. At its National Governing Council meeting on May 15, 2026, the union demanded that TSC advertise promotion vacancies for 135,000 teachers. In September 2026, TSC told the Senate Education Committee that 178,871 primary and secondary school teachers had stagnated in their job groups, citing budget limits. Figures presented to the Senate showed that 7,620 public primary schools had headteachers or deputy headteachers serving in acting capacities and 3,612 secondary schools had acting principals or deputy principals.

In June 2026, Kuppet welcomed an agreement with TSC to review the Career Progression Guidelines, with two career pathways: administrative and classroom-based that would let teachers progress to senior grades without necessarily becoming school administrators.

What This Means for Trained Teachers Looking for Work, and What Should You Do Next?

This is a real, permanent job round, but it is a replacement round with a short window. The posts come with permanent and pensionable terms and the application is free. The catch is the short application window, and the rule that recruits outside junior schools may be posted to any part of the country.

• Apply early, once. Use only the official TSC recruitment portal, fill in a single form, and do not leave it until the final night.
• Match your level to your papers. Primary posts need at least a P1 certificate and junior and secondary posts need at least a Diploma in Education, and anyone with an equivalent award should consult the commission's website, as candidates with equivalent qualifications have been advised.
• Check the county list. Read the county and sub-county vacancy list that the commission has published on its website before you choose where to apply.
• Prepare originals for interview. Bring the original academic and professional certificates that shortlisted candidates must present, and practise with our guide to common interview questions by job title, including teachers.
• Pay no one for a post. Any demand for money for a job, interview or posting should go to the nearest TSC office, the commission's headquarters or the police.

If you are not yet registered, start the TSC number process now, since applicants must be registered teachers with the Commission. Keeping your documents in one folder also helps with other public sector adverts, like the one in Kenya's public service hiring round.

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People Also Asked

Q: How many teachers is TSC hiring in this replacement round?

A: The commission has advertised 7,720 teaching vacancies on permanent and pensionable terms, split across primary, junior and secondary schools, to replace teachers who left the service.

Q: What is the deadline for the TSC replacement teacher applications?

A: Online applications close at midnight on Monday, November 23, 2026, and manual applications will not be accepted.

Q: Do I have to pay to apply for a TSC teaching job?

A: No. The recruitment exercise is free of charge and the commission warns applicants against fraudsters who might extort money by claiming to help with recruitment.

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