The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is under pressure from headteachers after new promotion rules locked them out of the much-coveted Curriculum Support Officer (CSO) positions.
It is said that the TSC’s online application system now blocks headteachers from horizontal promotions to CSO roles, stating they are already in the required entry job group, a move that has left many school heads frustrated.
In a shift that has stirred discontent, only deputy headteachers who have served in Job Group C4 for at least three years, along with secondary school teachers, Teacher Training College tutors, and Kenya Institute of Special Education tutors, have been cleared to apply for the posts.
Headteachers have expressed disappointment saying the new rules deny them a chance to transition into less demanding administrative roles.
“Becoming a CSO was my surest way of ascending to the office of Sub-county Director and later County Director. Now it has been given to our juniors, the deputy headteachers,” lamented Mr. Mukhwana, a head of institution in Western Kenya.
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He added that CSOs enjoy attached allowances during training programmes by both TSC and the Ministry of Education, benefits he has long aspired to receive.
Many headteachers say their interest in CSO positions is driven by the relatively lighter workload compared to running a school. They cited constant administrative demands, financial constraints, and managing challenging young teachers as key reasons for seeking the move.
TSC recently advertised 111 vacancies for regular CSOs and 134 for CSO Special Needs Education (SNE) positions. The responsibilities include visiting schools to support curriculum implementation, conducting functional assessments for learners with special needs, sensitizing teachers on new teaching approaches, collecting and disseminating school data, and other assigned duties.
There are currently over 1,400 CSOs, both regular and SNE on the TSC payroll.
By Naboth Murunga
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