- 300,000 registered teachers are jobless while 319, 000 are employed
- The law demands every trained teacher to have the TSC certificate to be allowed to practice
About 7, 000 teachers have failed to collect their Teachers Service Commission certificates despite applying for them.
A report compiled by TSC showed the teachers failed to collect their certificates, which were returned to the commission last month from their home postal addresses.
“We sent the certificates through Post Office and they did not pick them up. The Post Office sent them back to us and we have to inform them as required by the law,” commission communications director Beatrice Wababu said.
“We only send the certificate to those who have registered and have qualified. And so this is a clear indication that they were qualified and followed the right process to register.”
TSC officials told the Star that the registration did not guarantee employment. At least 300,000 registered teachers are jobless, according to the Teachers Service Commission report exclusively published by the Star in September last year.
The number of unemployed teachers is almost the same as those with jobs that stands at 317,069, according to the Commission's 2019-2023 strategic plan launched in May last year.
TSC also says a good number of Kenyans have trained but failed to register with the commission to take up jobs in other fields locally and abroad.
“We might not know the reason why they did not pick their certificates,” Wababu said.
Wababu said the commission had made it easier for those willing to become teachers to register online, a process that requires candidates to scan and upload original professional and academic certificates, Kenya Revenue Authority pin, national Identity Card, bank slip and the registration fee of Sh 1,055, which is non-refundable.
Other documents are one passport size photo, a completed medical form, certificate of good conduct and entry and work permits for non-Kenyans.
“They are also required to upload a letter of clearance from the Ministry of Education and other relevant institutions,” an Education Ministry official told the Star.