The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) pegs promotion interviews for heads of institutions and principals on national examination performance. While this is intended to motivate academic excellence, it has inadvertently fostered a culture of malpractice. In the race to post impressive results, some schools resort to unethical means – from unauthorised assistance to exam irregularities – all in the name of “performance improvement.” Sadly, these inflated results often fail to reflect the true learning realities in classrooms. Genuine teaching and learning are compromised as institutions focus more on short-term grades than on long-term competence and character formation.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has, over the years, tied the promotion of school heads and principals to the performance of their candidates in national examinations. On paper, this appears sound and merit-driven—after all, schools exist to produce academic excellence. However, beneath this seemingly fair policy lies a dangerous incentive system that has slowly nurtured a culture of manipulation and examination malpractices in the education sector.
When promotions depend heavily on exam results, the stakes become extraordinarily high. Every headteacher, principal, and teacher wants to be seen as a performer. The pressure to deliver “good results” often outweighs the ethical obligation to uphold integrity. As a result, some institutions resort to hook-and-crook methods to ensure their candidates post impressive grades — not necessarily as a reflection of genuine learning, but as a ticket to professional advancement.
In many schools across the country, the examination period is treated as a make-or-break season. School leaders know that their promotion prospects, community reputation, and even transfers depend on the grades their candidates produce. Instead of focusing on continuous learning, critical thinking, and skill development, schools often channel all their energy into short-term exam preparation strategies.
Mock examinations, endless drilling, and exposure to leaked materials have become common practices. Teachers spend sleepless nights trying to “beat the system,” and learners are often reduced to memorisation machines. The results may look impressive on paper, but they tell a deceptive story—one of inflated grades and superficial success.
Ironically, when such students progress to higher levels of learning, many struggle to cope with the demands of critical reasoning, independent thought and problem-solving. The inflated results they relied on to climb the academic ladder quickly crumble under the weight of reality.
The correlation between TSC’s promotion policy and exam malpractices cannot be ignored. In a system where exam performance is the golden key to career progression, it is only natural that unethical shortcuts would emerge. Some school heads collude with supervisors and invigilators to aid their candidates. In extreme cases, entire centres are implicated in organised cheating rings designed to secure better mean scores.
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Reports of sudden, unrealistic jumps in school performance—from a mean score of 5.6 to 9.2 in one year—should raise alarm bells. Such improvement, while theoretically possible, often defies pedagogical logic and points to deeper irregularities. When promotions and recognition follow these suspicious trends, honest teachers and institutions are demoralised, and the cycle of malpractice deepens.
This culture has also diluted the value of our national certificates. Employers, universities and training institutions are increasingly sceptical about the authenticity of grades. When the performance bar is raised through dishonest means, the entire system suffers a credibility crisis.
The tragedy of this policy is not only in the ethical decay it encourages but also in the psychological toll it takes on teachers and learners. Teachers, driven by pressure from their principals and Boards of Management, often sacrifice genuine learning in pursuit of numbers. They teach to pass exams, not to impart knowledge. Learners, in turn, are robbed of the joy of discovery and critical engagement with content.
For some headteachers and principals, the obsession with results turns toxic. They resort to coercion, intimidation, or manipulation of teachers and learners to achieve targets. Those who fail to deliver are branded underperformers, often sidelined or transferred. Yet no one pauses to ask whether the means used to achieve the “good results” were legitimate.
To restore sanity and integrity in the promotion process, TSC must rethink its evaluation model. While examination results remain a useful performance indicator, they should not be the sole criterion for career advancement. Leadership in education goes beyond grades; it encompasses mentorship, innovation, discipline management, community engagement and learner welfare.
A more holistic appraisal system should therefore include:
- School improvement index: Measuring progress in infrastructure, co-curricular activities and overall learning environment rather than just mean scores.
- Teacher Development Records: Evaluating how heads of institutions support continuous professional development and mentorship among their staff.
- Integrity and ethical record: Recognising heads who maintain clean records in exam administration and uphold honesty.
- Learner outcomes beyond exams: Assessing participation in national competitions, clubs and projects that develop life skills and creativity.
- Stakeholders’ feedback: Incorporating input from teachers, parents and local education officers on leadership style and school climate.
Such an approach would promote fairness and authenticity. It would reward leaders who genuinely transform learning environments instead of those who manipulate exam outcomes.
Education is not merely about producing grades—it is about nurturing competence, curiosity, and character. When promotions depend solely on numbers, education becomes transactional. Teachers no longer see learners as individuals with potential but as statistics to be improved.
If TSC truly wants to promote meritocracy, it must embrace a broader definition of merit. A school head who fosters discipline, innovation and integrity deserves as much recognition as one whose school tops the exam charts. Genuine leadership should be measured by sustainable growth, not short-lived exam glory.
By pegging promotions too closely to exam results, the TSC inadvertently fuels the very vices it seeks to eradicate—dishonesty, shortcuts, and inflated success. The nation must confront this uncomfortable truth: improved means do not always capture the reality on the ground.
A credible education system must reward truth, not trickery. It must elevate those who build strong foundations of integrity rather than those who master the art of manipulation. The time has come for TSC to review its promotion criteria and align them with the core values of education—honesty, fairness, and holistic growth. Only then can Kenya safeguard the credibility of its examinations and restore public trust in the teaching profession.
By Ashford Kimani
Ashford teaches English and Literature in Gatundu North Sub-county and serves as Dean of Studies.
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