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Career advice · Updated October 2026

TSC Teacher Recruitment Guide: Registration, Online Applications and Shortlisting

Getting a permanent teaching job with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is less about who you know and more about paperwork, timing and the Commission’s scoring rules. Recruitment is fully online, there is no physical queue, and the biggest reason qualified teachers miss out is that something in their registration or application is incomplete. This guide explains the whole cycle, using TSC’s own published adverts as the reference. For adverts open today, see our TSC jobs page.

Step zero: TSC registration

Under the law, you cannot teach in a Kenyan school without being registered by TSC, and every TSC recruitment advert lists registration as a minimum requirement. Registration is done online through the Commission’s portals linked from tsc.go.ke. Once registered, you receive a TSC number, which you will use for every future application, promotion and payslip. If you graduated recently, do this first; applying for jobs before your registration is complete is wasted effort.

The types of TSC recruitment

  • Replacement recruitment: to fill posts left by teachers who exit through natural attrition, such as retirement. In December 2024, TSC declared 8,707 such vacancies (5,862 primary, 21 junior school and 2,824 secondary), all on permanent and pensionable terms.
  • Additional teachers: larger exercises when the government funds new posts.
  • Internships: teacher internship programmes, advertised separately.
  • Promotions: deputy headteacher, senior master and deputy principal posts for serving teachers.
  • Secretariat jobs: non-teaching roles at TSC headquarters and county offices, applied for on the separate Secretariat recruitment portal.

When TSC advertises

There is no single fixed month. The December 2024 replacement advert opened on 31 December 2024 and closed at midnight on 13 January 2025, and a further replacement round followed in May 2025. In October 2026 the Commission’s chairperson told the media another exercise was planned for November 2026, but no advert, numbers or deadline had been published when we checked on 19 October 2026. Application windows are short, often about two weeks, so you need your documents ready before the advert appears.

Minimum eligibility in recent adverts

TSC’s December 2024 advert set three requirements:

  1. Kenyan citizenship.
  2. A P1 certificate for primary schools, or a diploma in education for junior and secondary schools.
  3. Registration with the Teachers Service Commission.

Each advert also states that the Commission’s recruitment guidelines for that financial year apply. Those guidelines set out how candidates are scored and ranked, and they are published in the downloads section of tsc.go.ke alongside the advert. Read the guidelines for the current year rather than relying on scoresheets shared on social media, which may be from an old cycle.

How to apply online

  1. Read the advert and the list of vacancies per county or school on tsc.go.ke. You apply against specific vacancies, so check where posts exist in your subject combination.
  2. Log in to the TSC online system at teachersonline.tsc.go.ke (also reachable through “Careers” on tsc.go.ke) using your TSC number.
  3. Fill in the Application for Employment form. Fill it once: TSC’s advert warns that filling two or more forms leads to disqualification.
  4. Submit before midnight on the closing date. Manual applications are not considered, and TSC does not need hard copies.
  5. Save or print your application summary as proof.

The December 2024 advert added that applicants who had never been employed by TSC would be given preference, which matters if you are already on a TSC contract or internship.

Shortlisting and verification

After the window closes, candidates are shortlisted and ranked under that year’s recruitment guidelines. Shortlisted candidates are invited to present original academic and professional certificates for verification. Bring your KCSE certificate, college or university certificates and transcripts, national ID, and TSC registration certificate, each with copies. Missing an original at verification can cost you a post you have already been ranked for.

Pay for new teachers

Teacher salaries are set in TSC’s career progression framework and collective bargaining agreements, not in the recruitment adverts. Because the figures depend on grade and allowances that vary by station, we only list pay we have verified from official documents in our salary database. Use the net salary calculator to see take-home pay once you know your gross.

Fraud: TSC jobs are never for sale

TSC’s adverts state that recruitment is free of charge and warn against people who extort money by pretending to help. The Commission asks the public to report fraud to the nearest TSC office, to the Director Staffing on 020 2892193 or the Deputy Director Staffing on 020 2892131, by email to dirstaffing@tsc.go.ke, or to the nearest police station. Typical scams include “TSC forms” on WhatsApp and promises to move you up the merit list for a fee. More warning signs are in our fake job adverts guide.

While you wait for TSC

Many teachers work in private schools or on board-of-management contracts between TSC rounds. Browse education jobs, polish your teacher CV, and turn on job alerts. For non-teaching public posts, our guide to applying for government jobs covers the PSC and county processes.

Other government recruitment guides

Looking beyond teaching? Our other public recruitment guides:

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to be registered with TSC to apply?

Yes. Every recent TSC recruitment advert lists registration with the Commission as a minimum requirement.

Can I send a hard copy TSC application?

No. TSC adverts state that manual applications are not considered; you apply online through teachersonline.tsc.go.ke.

Can I fill more than one TSC application form?

No. TSC warns that filling two or more Application for Employment forms leads to disqualification.

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