Hundreds of teachers who had been serving in acting capacities as school heads and deputies can finally breathe a sigh of relief following a game-changing decision by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to relax promotion rules in critical grades.
In a report presented to the Departmental Committee on Education on May 22, 2025, TSC confirmed that it temporarily waived the strict requirement of three years of service in a grade for promotions to Grade D3 (Principals) and Grade C4 (Deputy Headteachers). The waiver allowed teachers who had served for as little as six months in their current grades to apply.
“The Commission made a policy decision to waive the three-year requisite service in one grade temporarily and instead allow teachers with a minimum of six months’ service to apply in the two grades,” the report stated.
The move was necessitated by a long-standing leadership vacuum, with many schools—especially in areas of hardship—being run by teachers in acting positions for extended periods without formal recognition or compensation.
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“In a nutshell, the two Grades which are administrative positions (Principals and Deputy Headteachers) did not have sufficient qualified teachers nationally,” the Commission noted.
The result of the policy change was immediate. Applications surged, with Grade D3 attracting 1,694 candidates for 1,410 vacancies, while Grade C4 drew 4,521 applicants for 3,686 available positions.
“The objective of this waiver was twofold: to attract sufficient applicants for these key positions and to address the perennial problem of teachers acting in administrative positions,” TSC stated.
Promotions were promptly effected, bringing long-overdue legitimacy to those who had previously served without title or benefits.
“Subsequently, a total of 1,410 were promoted in Grade D3 (Principals) and 3,686 promoted in Grade C4 (Deputy Headteacher) positions across the country,” the report confirmed.
Notably, 3,427 of the teachers promoted without the three-year requirement came from these two administrative grades. The Commission has appealed to the Committee to allow them to retain their new positions.
“The Commission requests that these teachers be retained since the two grades did not attract the requisite numbers nationally as described above,” it said.
This bold policy shift has been hailed as a practical solution to a growing leadership gap in Kenya’s public schools—one that has long strained school management and morale.
By Joseph Mambili
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