TSC Requirements for Teachers, How to Become a Teacher in Kenya

The Teachers Service Commission is a government body mandated to employ teachers and assign them to any public school, promote, transfer teachers, discipline, and terminate the employment of teachers in Kenya. In order to be recruited by the commission to teach in a public school in Kenya, you have to meet all the TSC requirements for teachers.

According to the new TSC requirements for teacher recruitment, to teach in secondary schools, you must have scored a mean grade of C+ and above in KCSE, and at least C+ in the two teaching subjects, for diploma and bachelor of education graduates.

Teaching is a very marketable career in Kenya, provided you have one of the marketable subject combinations (for secondary teachers) and you meet the TSC requirements for teachers.

TSC Requirements for Primary Teacher Education, PTE

Applicants with PTE are required to have attained the following:

1. Minimum grade C Plain in KCSE and above
2. PTE Certificate from KNEC
3. Mean grade of C- (minus) for visually and hearing impaired persons

This means you can become a primary school teacher with a C in KCSE but not a secondary school teacher. Secondary school teachers are required to have a minimum of C+ in KCSE plus C+ in the two teaching subjects.

See also:

1. ECDE TSC Registration Requirements
2. New TSC Score Sheet for Recruitment and Replacement, Employment Guidelines
3. TSC Marketable Subject Combination for Secondary Schools

TSC Requirements for Secondary School Teachers

The following are the minimum academic and professional requirements for the registration and recruitment of teachers:

Bachelor of Education Graduate Teachers

Applicants must have a minimum mean grade of C+ (plus) at KCSE and C+ (plus) in each of the two teaching subjects or two (2) principles and one (1) subsidiary pass at the ‘A’ Level.

In addition, they must have:

• A Bachelor of Education Degree with two (2) teaching subjects OR
• A Bachelor of Science or Arts Degree plus a Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) with two teaching subjects.
• Bachelor of Science with Education / Bachelor of Arts with Education with two teaching subjects.

TAKE NOTE:

1. Bachelor of Education holders with a mean grade of C Plain and C Plain in the two teaching subjects at KCSE and have undertaken a Diploma in Education or gone through the A-level system in the relevant area(s) are eligible.
2. Bridging/Pre-university certificates for those who completed the course before December 31st, 2015 can be considered.

Diploma in Education Teachers

Applicants must have a minimum mean grade of C+ (plus) at KCSE or its equivalent with at least C+(plus) (or Credit pass) in the two teaching subjects or one (1) Principle and two (2) Subsidiaries at ‘A’ level.

They also need to have acquired at least C (Plain) in English and C (plain) in Mathematics for Science-based courses, or D+( plus) in Mathematics in non-science-based courses.

In addition, they must have a Diploma in Education from a recognized Teacher Training Institution.

NOTE:

1. Diploma Teachers who graduated in 2008 or before with a mean grade of C (plain) and C (plain) in the two teaching subjects are eligible;
2.  Hearing-impaired and blind, are enrolled for training with a mean grade of C and C in the two teaching subjects thus are eligible.

Diploma in Education for Visually and Hearing Impaired

Applicants under this course need to have attained:

1. Minimum grade C (Plain) in KCSE and above
2. At least C Minus in English
3. C- (Minus) in Mathematics for Science-based courses OR
4. D (Plain) in Mathematics in non-science-based courses

Other Academic Requirements for Secondary School Teachers

• Applicants with Economics/Commerce/Accounting, Social Education and Ethics (SEE) can apply for Business Studies and CRE/IRE vacancies respectively.
• Diploma Teachers with English/other subjects qualify for employment as English/Literature teachers.
• All applicants must have studied the two teaching subjects at KCSE except for Agriculture, Business Studies, Home Science, and Computer. For those who did not study Business Studies and Computer, one should have attained a minimum of C+ (Plus) in Mathematics in KCSE. For those who did not study Agriculture and Home Science, one should have attained a minimum of C+ in Biology at KCSE.
• Graduate Teachers should have studied a minimum of eight (8) course units in each teaching subject.
• Applicants presenting enhancement certificate(s)/official transcripts in a teaching subject(s) from a recognized institution (s) qualify for employment.
• Applicants previously employed under contract and whose services were terminated due to inadequate units in teaching subjects and who have since obtained enhancement certificates with adequate units are eligible to apply.
• Applicants applying for computer studies MUST have taken a course on teaching methods.
• For applicants trained in Special Needs Education, KSL and Braille are considered as teaching subjects e.g. Biology/KSL, Geography/Braille.

In addition to the above academic qualifications, one must be a Kenyan citizen, 45 years and below.

Subjects Not Considered by TSC for Recruitment

Irrespective of whether you have undertaken a postgraduate diploma in education (PGDE), the following subjects, which are not in the curriculum, are not considered by TSC requirements for recruitment or teachers:

Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science in;

• Natural Resources
• Meteorology
• Forestry
• Animal Husbandry
• Horticulture
• Farm Machinery
• Fisheries
• Anthropology
• Sociology
• Theology/Divinity
• Journalism
• Kiswahili and Communication
• Business Management / Administration
• Banking and Finance
• Genomics
• Actuarial Science
• Environmental Science
• Criminology
• Biotechnology and Agriculture
• All courses related to Engineering
• Industrial Chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Hospitality and Tourism
• Food, Nutrition, and Dietetics
• Technology and Applied Biology
• Microbiology etc

Also Read:

1. Teachers’ Basic Salary in Kenya and the New TSC Grading System
2. NITA Kenya Courses, Course Duration, Requirements and Fee Structure
3. List of Registered Teachers Training Colleges in Kenya