Kuppet presses TSC to promote 130,000 stagnated teachers

By Newsflash Writer

The teachers’ employer is under mounting pressure to promote more than 130,000 educators who have remained in the same job groups for decades.

Citing recent reforms in the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) as a precedent, the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) is urging the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to carry out the promotions without delay.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen recently announced sweeping changes to the police promotion framework, abolishing the requirement for declaration of vacancies and interviews for long-serving officers. Under the new system, police constables aged 50 and above will be promoted on merit without waiting until 53, while corporals, sergeants, and inspectors who have spent more than 15 years in one rank will also move up.

Police reforms as a template

Describing the police reforms as a “positive example” worth replicating, Kuppet Secretary-General Akelo Misori insisted that the TSC “must not be left behind.” He criticised the long-standing practice of keeping a large segment of the teaching workforce in the same position for years, calling it demoralising.

While praising the NPSC’s move as bold, Misori contrasted it with what he termed the TSC’s failure to address similar stagnation among teachers. “The decisive action by the NPSC to end stagnation among police officers has exposed the TSC’s inaction, which has been nothing more than lip service for years,” Misori said.

The union pledged to resend a list of the 130,000 affected teachers to the TSC for immediate promotion. Many have remained in the former Job Groups I and M—converted in 2016 to Teacher Scales C3 and C5—yet have not advanced since as far back as 2009 or 2011. Some have even pursued advanced degrees at their own cost without moving up the career ladder.

Union calls for equal treatment across Public Service

Misori accused the TSC of misleading educators by claiming that reclassification of grades was equivalent to promotions. “It was merely a re-designation, not genuine career progression,” he argued. While he said teachers were not opposed to interviews, he stressed that certain grades did not justify keeping staff in the same position for over a decade.

Kuppet Deputy Secretary-General Moses Nthurima called for uniformity in promotion policies across the public service so that all employees are treated equally.

This is not the first time promotion disputes have sparked tensions between teachers’ unions and the TSC. Both Kuppet and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) have repeatedly accused the commission of neglecting fair career growth for educators.

The latest push comes amid broader demands for equity in public sector employment, with unions advocating for a harmonised career progression structure. The agitation also follows claims that the TSC has failed to issue promotion letters to hundreds of teachers months after listing them as successful candidates.

Although the commission released a revised list of promoted teachers on 29 May—after sustained union pressure and a parliamentary directive—many say they are still awaiting formal confirmation, leaving morale low. The updated list covered 23,000 teachers elevated to higher job grades with better pay, but for the majority still left behind, Kuppet insists the wait for recognition has gone on for far too long.