The acting Chief Executive Officer of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), Eveleen Mitei, has been recognised at the 7th edition of the East Africa Superwoman Awards, where she emerged as one of the standout honourees for 2026.
She was awarded Africa’s Champions Award and the Superwoman Award, and was notably declared the Most Impactful Champion in Transformative Leadership in East Africa for the year 2026.
The awards ceremony took place at the Argyle Grand Hotel in Nairobi on Saturday, May 16, 2026, bringing together distinguished leaders, professionals, policymakers, and changemakers from across East Africa to celebrate excellence in leadership, governance, innovation, and women’s empowerment.
The recognition places her among the leading women in the region, acknowledged for excellence in leadership, institutional transformation, integrity in public service, and impactful governance.
The organisers of the awards highlighted her contribution to strengthening leadership systems and improving service delivery within the education sector through ongoing reforms at the Teachers Service Commission.
The award has been widely celebrated across the education fraternity, with many describing it not only as a personal triumph for Ms Mitei but also as a major victory for Kenya’s teaching profession and the country’s education sector at large.
At a time when educational institutions across Africa are facing enormous pressure to modernise systems, improve service delivery, embrace technology, and respond to emerging educational realities, Ms Mitei’s recognition stands as a powerful testament to the transformative leadership currently steering one of Kenya’s most critical public institutions.
Leadership, Integrity and Women Empowerment
In her speech during the presentation, Ms Mitei underscored the importance of integrity in leadership and the growing role of women in leadership positions despite persistent societal barriers.
Eveleen said: “We are leaders. And leaders of integrity. In my leadership journey, I realised the most important thing for a leader is integrity. And we face so many challenges as women because people believe this is a large workforce, we cannot be led by women, and so on and so forth.”
“But we have broken the ceiling glass, and we believe that we are capable. We have the requisite qualifications, like men, and we are able to lead, and our work is appreciated in such forums. Thank you very much.”
Her remarks reflected the broader significance of the award, not only as recognition of personal achievement, but also as affirmation that women continue to rise and excel in positions of leadership across Africa.
The acting TSC boss also highlighted the commission’s role in safeguarding learners, especially girls, through the education system and teacher management structures.
“We also play a critical role in protecting our children, especially the girl-child, against sexual abuse, physical abuse, and emotional abuse. As a commission, our teachers are entrusted with managing your girls,” said the acting CEO.
Her comments reinforced the commission’s responsibility beyond academics, emphasising the need to create safe and supportive learning environments for all learners.
Push for Gender Parity in Education
Ms Mitei further used the platform to speak about the importance of policies that support women and promote gender parity within institutions.
“Push for policies that support women, such as ensuring that there is gender parity. And I will give you an example of the teaching service. In all our policies, we ensure that whatever we do, there is parity.”
She pointed to the Teachers Service Commission as one of the institutions that has made significant strides in ensuring balanced gender representation within the workforce.
“And as a commission, for example, that manages teachers, which is the largest employer in this country, we manage to push policies and ensure that in terms of gender, our teachers are 51 to 49,” she said.
“Actually, 51 per cent of our teachers are women, which is a great achievement for this country. Many people say teaching is a career for women. Yes, it is a career for women because there are co-creators,” she added.
Education stakeholders have praised Ms Mitei for her calm yet firm administrative style, strategic thinking, professionalism, and ability to navigate the complex demands of managing one of the largest public-sector workforces in the country.
READ ALSO: Why Evaleen Mitei is becoming the darling of teachers at the helm of TSC
For Mitei, the award represents more than personal recognition; it is a strong affirmation of her leadership, integrity, and commitment to transforming Kenya’s education sector through effective public service.
Mitei’s rise to the top of TSC
Eveleen Mitei was appointed Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Teachers Service Commission in June 2025 following the commencement of terminal leave by former CEO Nancy Macharia. The appointment was formally communicated through an internal memo dated June 1, 2025, before being publicly announced on June 3, 2025.
Before ascending to the acting CEO position, Mitei had served in several senior positions within TSC, including Director of Teacher Discipline Management, Human Resource Management roles, staffing administration, and policy implementation. She joined the TSC Secretariat in 1999 after beginning her teaching career in 1994.
Academic Qualifications and Professional Background
Mitei holds a Bachelor of Education degree from Moi University and a Master of Science in Human Resource Management from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. She also pursued further studies in Human Resource Management, strengthening her expertise in institutional administration, leadership, and public service management.
Her background in human resource management, teacher discipline, and institutional administration positioned her as one of the most experienced figures within the commission ahead of the leadership transition at TSC.
Key reforms under Eveleen’s leadership
Digitisation of TSC Services
One of the major reforms under her leadership has been the expansion and strengthening of digital systems within the commission. Since taking over in June 2025, TSC has improved online teacher transfer systems to make transfers easier, faster, and more transparent for teachers nationwide.
The reforms also focused on the digitisation of teacher records, administrative services, deployment systems, and communication between teachers and the commission. The move was aimed at reducing delays, improving efficiency, and enhancing service delivery across the education sector.
Mitei also supported reforms to reduce human interference in teacher transfer processes by improving the “Swapmate” transfer system, which allows teachers to exchange stations more transparently and efficiently.
SHA Transition for Teachers
In late 2025 and early 2026, TSC also began implementing the transition of teachers to the Social Health Authority (SHA) healthcare system following national health reforms.
Mitei confirmed that teachers would transition to SHA beginning December 1, 2025, as part of broader reforms in public healthcare management and teacher medical coverage. The process involved discussions on medical funding, insurance structures, and healthcare access for teachers under the new national framework.
She also engaged with Parliament and stakeholders regarding budget allocations and concerns about the implementation of the new healthcare system for teachers.
Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) Talks
Mitei further led high-level engagements between TSC and teachers’ unions regarding the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The negotiations focused on salary reviews, career progression, hardship allowances, teacher promotions, welfare improvements, and administrative reforms. Under the proposed framework, discussions included shortening promotion timelines and addressing long-standing stagnation among teachers serving in hardship areas.
TSC also secured billions of shillings for the phased implementation of the agreement beginning July 2026 as talks with unions continued.
Reforms on Career Progression Guidelines (CPG)
Among the most significant reforms during her tenure was the move to overhaul the controversial Career Progression Guidelines (CPG), which had long been blamed for leaving teachers in the same job groups for extended periods.
Under the proposed reforms, TSC moved towards replacing the existing structure with a simplified promotion framework designed to accelerate career growth and reduce promotion timelines from more than 30 years to between 15 and 18 years.
Teacher Promotions and Career Progression
In May 2026, Mitei announced plans to promote more than 30,000 teachers before the end of the year, following TSC’s request for additional funding from the National Treasury.
The reforms targeted delayed promotions, career stagnation, and regional inequalities in promotion opportunities while also supporting affirmative action for teachers in marginalised regions.
TSC additionally proposed allocating Sh2 billion towards promotions and initiated discussions to address disparities affecting teachers working in hardship areas.
Intern Teachers Absorption Programme
During her tenure, TSC also intensified efforts to transition thousands of intern teachers into permanent and pensionable terms.
The commission outlined a phased programme to absorb 44,000 intern teachers, with 20,000 expected to be confirmed first, followed by the remaining group before the end of 2026.
Junior Secondary School (JSS) Reforms
Her leadership has also focused heavily on strengthening the administration of Junior Secondary Schools under the Competency-Based Curriculum framework.
She supported reforms to improve staffing structures, deployment systems, and teacher preparedness for the implementation of the CBC in schools nationwide.
Mitei also backed proposals to grant greater administrative autonomy to Junior Secondary Schools, despite ongoing national debate over the management structure of JSS institutions.
Upgrading of P1 Teachers
During her tenure, TSC also supported programmes to upgrade P1 teachers and prepare them for deployment in Junior Secondary Schools.
The initiative, supported through collaboration with development partners including the World Bank, was designed to address teacher shortages within the CBC system while expanding professional opportunities for primary school teachers.
Recognition of Co-Curricular Activities
Mitei also introduced proposals to recognise teachers who excel in co-curricular activities such as sports, music festivals, drama, science contests, and talent development.
The proposal sought to ensure that teachers who contribute beyond classroom teaching also benefit from opportunities for career progression and institutional recognition.
Teacher Welfare and Salary Administration
Her leadership has also attracted praise from teachers for timely salary administration and increased engagement between TSC and teachers’ unions.
Education stakeholders have described her approach as consultative, professional, and focused on improving teacher welfare and institutional efficiency within one of Kenya’s largest public service commissions.The
East Africa Superwoman Awards are held annually. The event is organised every year to recognise and celebrate outstanding women leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs, innovators, and changemakers across East Africa and beyond.
By Hillary Muhalya and Philip Koech
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