Functions, roles, organogram, and registration of TSC

The Teacher Service Commission (TSC) is established under Article 237 of Kenya’s 2010 constitution giving it a mandate to oversee the human resources in education. The commission manages over 300,000 teachers who are currently working under it. The TSC employs teachers in public primary, and secondary schools and teacher training institutions.

TSC’s main functions are to register, recruit, employ, deploy, promote, transfer, terminate, and deal with disciplinary issues for registered teachers in Kenya.

Functions and roles of TSC

The Teacher Service Commission (TSC) is established under the Kenya Constitution 2010 (Article 237) as an independent commission to manage teachers’ and trainers’ human resource affairs. To operationalize the commission the Teacher Service Commission Act of 2012 was enacted by parliament. So, the TSC gets roles and responsibilities from the constitution and the TSC Act of 2012.

The functions of the Commission highlighted in the constitution of Kenya 2010 are,

  1. To register trained teachers.
  2. Recruit and employ registered teachers
  3. Assign teachers employed by the Commission for service in any public school or institution
  4. To promote and transfer teachers
  5. Exercise disciplinary control over teachers
  6. To terminate the employment of teachers.

The additional functions from the TSC Act of 2012 are,

  1. Formulate policies to achieve its mandate
  2. Provide strategic direction, leadership, and oversight to the secretariat
  3. Ensure that teachers comply with the teaching standards prescribed by the Commission under this Act
  4. Manage the payroll of teachers in its employment
  5. Facilitate career progression and professional development for teachers in the teaching service including the appointment of head teachers and principals
  6. Monitor the conduct and performance of teachers in the teaching service

The organizational structure of TSC (Organogram)

The TSC commissioners are appointed by the President and vetted by parliament. The commission is made up of a chairperson and 8 members to give a total of 9 commissioners. They are appointed for a 6-year term that is not renewable.

From the commissioners, the TSC has a secretariat that implements the decisions made by the commission headed by the commission secretary or the CEO. The commission secretary is the accounting officer of the commission.

Under the TSC commission secretary/CEO, we have directorates that are headed by the deputy commission secretary. As per the commission circular No. 16/2018, there are 3 directorates.

  1. Finance and Administrative
  2. Teacher Management
  3. Human Resource Management and Development.

Each directorate is further divided into divisions, sections, and sub-sections. The division is headed by a director while a section is by a senior deputy director.

However, some specialized units are not under any directorate but they report directly to the commission secretary. They are either headed by a director or a senior deputy director.

Finance and Administrative Directorate

  1. Finance and accounts division
  2. General administrative division

Teacher Management Directorate

  1. Staffing division
  2. Quality assurance and standards & teacher registration
  3. Field services division

Human Resource Management and Development Directorate

  1. Human resource management division
  2. Human resource development section
  3. Pension section

Specialized Units

  1. Information communication and technology
  2. Legal services division
  3. Internal audit division
  4. Corporate communication section
  5. Policy planning research & innovation section
  6. Supply chain management section

Roles of TSC in curriculum development

TSC is a key stakeholder when it comes to curriculum development and implementation. The teachers who are managed by the commission are the developers and implementers of the curriculum. The success or failure of the implementation can be determined by the teacher and trainer.

With the new CBC curriculum being implemented TSC should ensure that the teachers who are being employed can be able to handle the curriculum. Those teachers already in service should also be capacity-built for the new curriculum implementation.

The TSC commission should work with other stakeholders in the Ministry of Education to ensure the national education goals are achieved. It should also work with KICD to prepare curriculum, Teacher training institutions, and universities that offer teacher education. KNEC and universities that certify teachers after the course among other stakeholders.

Requirement for TSC registration as a teacher in Kenya

The commission is mandated to register all teachers before they can practice teaching in Kenya. Each registered teacher is issued a unique TSC number and a certificate to prove it. The registration is done online through the TSC portal and no paper application is allowed.

Scanned document required to register for the TSC number

As per the TSC website, the following are the requirements for registration

  1. Certified copies of academic and professional certificates
  2. National identity card
  3. Bank Message or MPesa message (Evidence of payment to be done during registration)
  4. One passport-size photo
  5. KRA pin
  6. GP69 form (Medical Form)
  7. Certificate of Good Conduct
  8. Entry and work permit for non-Kenyans.
  9. A non-refundable fee of Kshs.1050 (to be paid through E-citizen Paybill No.)

Before you start the application process ensure you have scanned all required documents for uploading. Again, ensure you have enough cash on your mobile money or bank to pay since you cannot complete the process without payment.