TSC Disburses Long-Awaited Allowances to Field Officers.
Teachers Service Commission (TSC) field officers can now breathe a sigh of relief as their employer has finally released allowances as reimbursements for those who facilitated the recent teacher promotion interviews.
The disbursement of unpaid allowances was made to TSC Sub-County Directors (SCDs) through their respective County Directors (CDs) last week. These funds covered transport and meals for a period of 10 days, allocated for interviews held at sub-county levels for primary school teachers and at county levels for secondary school educators.
Teachers Updates has verified that the interview exercise took place between January 13-23 for primary school teachers and from January 26 to February 6 for secondary school teachers.
Breakdown of Disbursed Allowances
In December 2024, TSC announced over 19,000 promotion vacancies for teachers, with interviews conducted at multiple venues nationwide. The exercise involved SCDs, Human Resource Officers (HROs), Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (QASO), and Curriculum Support Officers (CSOs).
Field officers confirmed that each panelist involved in the interviews received Kshs 60,000, which covered their meals and transport expenses for overseeing the recruitment at both sub-county and county levels.
One of the directors explained that each officer received a daily allowance of Kshs 1,500 for their involvement in the interviews. The reimbursement catered to transport and meals for each panelist, with the number of panelists varying based on the county’s size. Typically, there would be one or two panels per job.
The director further disclosed that interviews for senior and chief principals of secondary schools were conducted at the regional level by Regional Directors alongside senior TSC headquarters officials. Unlike SCDs, these panelists were reimbursed in the form of per diems.
Resolving Mounting Tension
The release of these allowances has eased rising tensions between the TSC secretariat at headquarters and field officers, who had been frustrated over unpaid allowances for tasks assigned outside their usual workstations.
Officers had increasingly voiced their concerns, questioning how they were expected to fulfill their duties effectively without proper facilitation. Their dissatisfaction escalated to the point where they pressured TSC to uphold its commitment to motivating them.
Last year, the TSC held a face-to-face meeting in Naivasha with its CEO, Dr. Nancy Macharia. Although the engagement seemed to break the ice, employees remained discontented as Dr. Macharia did not attend the highly anticipated session.
As a result, field officers intensified their efforts to have their grievances addressed. Just two weeks ago, as reported by Teachers Updates, dissatisfied TSC Sub-County Directors, through their leaders, formally wrote to Dr. Macharia, urging her to address their concerns.
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They emphasized that the Commission’s continued failure to respond had significantly impacted their workplace morale.
The letter highlighted major issues, including delayed allowances, the absence of a structured promotion system for officers, and overwhelming workloads, among other concerns.
TSC Disburses Long-Awaited Allowances to Field Officers
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