The Kalenjin, Luhya, Kamba and Kikuyu communities form the highest number of teachers employed in Junior school out of a grand total of 68,313.

According to data the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) presented to Senate Committee on National Cohesion, equal opportunity and regional integration, some 10,769 teachers are drawn from Kalenjin community followed by Kikuyu at 10,499, then Kamba with 9,557 and fourth is Kikuyu at 8,799.

The data has also shown that 8,721 of the junior school are from Luo community, 6,796 are from the Abagusii followed by Ameru with 4,087 then Mijikenda with 1,851, Maasai with 1,741 and Embu with 883, Tharaja at 608, Mbeere at 526 and Teso at 510 respectively.

The lowest recruitment has been witnessed from Ogaden community with only five teachers, then Njemps with seven followed by Kenyan Asians with 10, Gureeh and Rabai with 13 each, Garre at 14 while Jibana and Waata have 15 respectively.

In total, some 58 communities have been employed by TSC.

“As a policy of the Commission, recruitment of teachers is conducted at the Sub-County level. This is aimed at according to all Kenyans with equal and fair opportunity for employment as ordained in the Constitution. In compliance with the constitutional requirements, the teachers employed in Junior School, teachers were drawn from diverse ethnic communities across the country,” TSC stated.

TSC has also insisted that the policy of conducting recruitment at the sub-county level and giving priority to qualified local applicants has enhanced regional and ethnic representation in teacher recruitment.

“This strategy supports equitable access to employment opportunities across all counties. While the Commission strives for ethnic balance, recruitment is ultimately determined by the availability of qualified applicants in each region and subject area. As such, some variations in distribution are expected,” TSC said, in its presentation.

TSC also stated that apart from the recruited teachers, the Commission has also deployed 8,378 qualified teachers from primary to Junior School.

Out of the total teachers employed, 9,000 of them were on permanent and pensionable terms in the 2022/2023 Financial Year, another 39,550 teachers on similar terms in the 2024/2025 Financial Year and some 20,000 interns in the 2024/2025 Financial Year.

The last batch of 20,000 teacher interns reported for duty in January this year, which brought the total targeted recruitment to 68,550 positions.

Out of these, 68,313 teachers have so far been recruited and deployed across the country, leaving a total of 237 vacancies unfilled due to a lack of applicants.

The unfilled vacancies comprise 56 permanent and pensionable vacancies in Mandera County and 181 intern vacancies (Mandera: 114, Marsabit: 34, and Wajir: 33).

 The Commission has also re-advertised the 237 unfilled vacancies.

The gender distribution was fairly balanced, with 51.3 per cent male and 48.7 per cent female, with a majority of the newly recruited teachers being youth aged between 22 and 35 years, translating to 94 per cent.

At the same time, the Commission insisted it has employed an inclusive approach to ensure regional balance, gender parity, and the inclusion of persons with disabilities, the youth, and marginalized groups in both recruitment and promotion processes.

These, it said, include compliance with legal and policy frameworks, decentralized interview process: To enhance regional representation and access, interviews are conducted at the sub-county level and equitable vacancy distribution, which are distributed proportionally to counties and sub-counties, ensuring that each region receives a fair share of opportunities based on needs and available positions.

 Standardized scoring criteria is also used, where a uniform interview scoring guide is applied across all regions, as well as gender parity and inclusion of special groups.

To qualify for employment as a junior school teacher, a person must be a Kenyan citizen, have at least a Diploma in Education from a recognized institution, have a minimum of a C+ (plus) in KCSE and C+ (plus) in two teaching subjects (or its equivalent and must be registered with the TSC.

Similarly, 5 per cent of all advertised vacancies are reserved for Persons with Disability (PWDs), with the candidates evaluated using tailored scoring guides and compete among themselves for the reserved slots in teacher recruitment.

Explaining the promotion criteria for teachers in Junior School, the TSC said this is premised on Regulation 73 of the Code of Regulations for Teachers (CORT), the Career Progression Guidelines (CPG) for Teachers (2018), and the Recognition, Reward and Sanction Policy.

“Promotion of teachers in Junior School guided by availability of budget/funds, existence of vacancies in the authorized establishment, merit and ability as reflected in the teacher’s work performance, seniority and experience, annual performance records, and academic and professional qualification,” TSC explained.