The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is set to introduce a new career progression framework that will allow classroom teachers to rise to the rank of Chief Principal without taking up administrative duties.
The revised Career Progression Guidelines (CPG) have been forwarded to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) for advice on their financial implications and possible approval of the new career structure.
Speaking on Thursday at Kit-Mikayi in Seme Constituency during Nyanza’s regional World Teachers’ Day celebrations, TSC Commissioner Timon Oyucho said the new guidelines will replace the 2018 framework and are expected to take effect in July 2027.
Under the proposed structure, teachers will have the option to remain in the classroom while progressing through the career grades, instead of moving into school administration to advance.
Classroom teachers will be able to rise to the Chief Principal grade, the highest level in the current teaching career structure.
He added that a classroom teacher who reaches the Chief Principal grade and an administrator holding the same grade will earn the same basic salary.
“We shall have a classroom teacher having the grade of the chief principal in the same school with a chief principal,” Oyucho said.
“The chief principal who is an administrator and the chief principal who is a classroom teacher shall earn the same salary.”
The main difference will be the administrative allowance paid to teachers holding management responsibilities.
Oyucho said the allowance does not form part of the salary used to calculate retirement benefits.
“The two teachers shall retire at the same level in terms of salary and therefore shall carry home the same retirement package,” he said.
The revised framework is also expected to separate the two career routes, allowing teachers to choose between classroom teaching and administration.
Teachers interested in administration will compete for available administrative positions, while those who prefer to remain in the classroom will have a separate promotion route.
“You have the leeway to choose to become administrators and compete for the number of vacancies in administration. You’ll also have the leeway to choose to remain a classroom teacher and be promoted the entire distance without involving yourself with administration,” Oyucho said.
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Primary School Heads to Become Principals
The new framework will also change the titles used for heads of institutions.
Primary school Heads of Institutions (HOIs) will be redesignated as principals from July 1, 2027, when the new CPG is expected to take effect.
Oyucho said the change will bring the leadership titles across the teaching service under a new structure. The commissioner further revealed that all Principals shall start from teacher grade three.
The revised guidelines are intended to address concerns over career stagnation among teachers and give educators more than one route to advance professionally.
Oyucho said the Commission wants to identify and promote the abilities of teachers without requiring them to leave classroom teaching.
“We are interested in identifying the potential in every teacher and promoting that teacher all the way,” he said.
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What Changes from the 2018 Career Structure
The 2018 CPG placed teachers on a structured career ladder that ran from entry-level positions to Chief Principal.
It mapped teaching jobs onto a ladder running from T-Scale 5 for a Primary Teacher II to T-Scale 15 for a Chief Principal.
The new guidelines propose a shorter career ladder, reducing the number of career levels across the teaching service from 56 to 43.
Under the proposed structure, primary education would have six regular career levels instead of eight, while Junior and Senior School would move from nine to seven levels.
The framework also introduces a common grading system in which teachers are identified by grades rather than administrative titles. At the top of the structure is Teacher 1, corresponding to the Chief Principal grade.
Some grades would be common-cadre positions, allowing teachers to progress automatically, while higher grades would be competitive and require teachers to meet set criteria.
The proposed structure would also change entry points based on academic qualifications. In primary education, teachers holding a Primary Teacher Education certificate would enter at Teacher 9, while diploma holders would enter at Teacher 8.
In secondary education, diploma holders would enter at Teacher 8, while degree holders would enter at Teacher 7.
The guidelines would also change how existing teachers are placed within the new structure.
For example, Secondary Teacher 3 would become Teacher 8, Secondary Teacher 2 would become Teacher 7 and Secondary Teacher 1 would become Teacher 6. Senior Masters and Deputy Principals would also be mapped into the new grades.
In primary schools, Primary Teacher 2 would become Teacher 9 and Primary Teacher 1 would become Teacher 8, while Senior Teachers, Deputy Headteachers and Headteachers would move into the corresponding new grades.
The new framework is expected to take effect from July 2027, subject to the completion of the required approval and implementation processes.
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