TSC Teacher Deregistration Grounds: 15 Offences Explained.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has restated 15 categories of misconduct that constitute gross violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethics and can lead to a teacher’s permanent removal from the Register of Teachers, according to reports in mid-July 2026 explaining the Commission’s disciplinary framework.
Separately, a gazette notice dated 10 July 2026, signed by Acting Chief Executive Officer Evaleen Mitei, confirmed that seven teachers had been struck off the register under Section 30(1)(e) of the TSC Act, 2012 — one of several such gazetted dismissals TSC has issued in recent months, illustrating that the Commission continues to actively enforce these grounds.
Deregistration is the most severe sanction TSC can impose. Once a teacher’s name is removed from the register, it becomes a criminal offence for that person to teach in any Kenyan school unless the decision is overturned on appeal or the Commission itself formally reinstates them. Schools found employing a deregistered teacher also face penalties, including fines.
What TSC Has Announced
TSC grounds its disciplinary framework in three instruments: the TSC Act, 2012; the Code of Regulations for Teachers; and the Code of Conduct and Ethics. Under this framework, the Commission has grouped conduct that can lead to deregistration into five broad categories.
1. Sexual Misconduct and Abuse
- Sexual abuse, harassment, or immoral relationships with learners
- Defilement, rape, or other serious sexual or gender-based offences
2. Physical and Professional Violations
- Physical assault or cruelty against learners or colleagues
- Gross insubordination or persistent refusal to obey lawful instructions
- Professional negligence that causes or allows harm to learners
- Chronic absenteeism or desertion of duty without lawful cause
3. Examination and Certification Fraud
- Examination malpractice, including leaking materials or aiding cheating
- Forgery or falsification of academic or professional certificates
- Impersonation or fraudulently obtaining a TSC registration number using another person’s identity
4. Financial and Criminal Offences
- Theft, fraud, embezzlement, or corruption
- Conviction of a serious criminal offence by a court of law
5. Substance Abuse and Conduct Unbecoming the Profession
- Reporting to work under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or habitual substance abuse
- Bullying, intimidation, or cyberbullying of learners or colleagues
- Unauthorised disclosure of confidential TSC or school information
- Any conduct that seriously damages the dignity, integrity, or reputation of the teaching profession
Who Is Affected?
This framework applies to every registered teacher in Kenya, whether employed by TSC, a Board of Management, or a private institution — deregistration removes a person from the national Register of Teachers altogether, not just from a particular job.
Read Also: How to Contact TSC HR Directly: Official Email Addresses, Phone Numbers
The Disciplinary Process
Under Section 34 of the TSC Act, a teacher cannot be deregistered without due process. TSC’s stated process runs through five stages:
- Investigation — The Commission investigates the allegation.
- Response — The teacher is formally given a chance to respond to the allegations, typically through a show-cause letter.
- Disciplinary hearing — A hearing, which may be physical or virtual, examines the evidence.
- Commission decision — TSC issues its verdict, which can range from a warning letter to dismissal and deregistration.
- Right of appeal — The teacher retains a right to appeal the decision.
Where the misconduct is also criminal — such as sexual exploitation of a learner — TSC works alongside law enforcement so the matter can be separately prosecuted.
Recent Enforcement: What the Numbers Show
TSC’s warnings are backed by an active disciplinary caseload. In testimony before the Senate Education Committee reported in September 2025, TSC’s Director of Legal, Labour and Industrial Relations, Cavin Anyuor, disclosed that the Commission had received 111 cases of alleged teacher misconduct since January 2024.
Of these, 69 teachers were dismissed and deregistered, 9 were dismissed without deregistration, 25 were suspended with a possibility of reinstatement, one intern teacher was deregistered, four cases were cleared after investigation, and three were dropped following the death of the accused before a hearing could be held. Anyuor further stated that TSC had deregistered 470 teachers in total over the preceding five years.
More recently, the 10 July 2026 gazette notice confirmed seven additional teachers had been removed from the register, with causes cited in similar past notices including immoral behaviour and presenting forged certificates.
Read Also; TSC Interdiction Letter: The Official Format, Process and What Can Get It Reversed
Important Things Readers Should Know
Beyond the formal legal grounds, several everyday classroom practices increase a teacher’s exposure to complaints or investigation, even where no deliberate wrongdoing is intended:
- Avoid one-on-one situations with a learner in an office, classroom, or laboratory without other adults or students present, in line with child-protection guidance — this protects both the learner and the teacher from unsubstantiated claims.
- Do not send a disruptive learner out of class unsupervised. A teacher can be held accountable for what happens to a learner who is outside their supervision.
- Keep physical contact with learners to what is clearly appropriate for the situation, since claims of physical or sexual contact are difficult to disprove without witnesses.
- Mark and return assignments promptly. Persistently unmarked work can be read as professional negligence.
- Avoid corporal or emotional punishment, including prolonged kneeling or humiliation, which can itself constitute cruelty toward a learner and may also mask underlying health issues in the child.
- Treat all learners and colleagues even-handedly. Favouritism, tribalism, or targeting a learner or colleague out of personal frustration can be treated as conduct unbecoming the profession.
- Do not undermine your school head or colleagues through conspiracy or insubordination — this falls squarely within the “gross insubordination” ground above.
None of these replace TSC’s formal legal grounds; they are practical habits that reduce a teacher’s risk of ever being investigated in the first place.
Read Also: TSC Payroll Check-Off Guidelines: Union Dues, Agency Fees, T-Pay and the 1/3 Salary Rule
Frequently Asked Questions
How many grounds can lead to a teacher’s deregistration?
TSC has publicly restated 15 specific offences, grouped into five broad categories, that constitute gross misconduct warranting deregistration.
What law governs TSC disciplinary action?
The TSC Act, 2012 (particularly Sections 30 and 34), the Code of Regulations for Teachers, and the Code of Conduct and Ethics for Teachers.
Can a deregistered teacher be reinstated?
Reinstatement is rare. It generally requires a successful appeal or a formal review by the Commission that overturns or clears the original grounds for removal.
Does TSC publish the names of deregistered teachers?
Yes, deregistrations are announced through official Kenya Gazette notices, which sometimes — though not always — specify the grounds for each case.
What happens to a school that hires a deregistered teacher?
The school and its head risk penalties under the TSC Act, including fines, for knowingly engaging a deregistered individual to teach.
Is interdiction the same as deregistration?
No. Interdiction is a temporary suspension from duty (usually with reduced pay) pending investigation or a hearing, while deregistration is a final, permanent removal from the Register of Teachers following a completed disciplinary process.
TSC Teacher Deregistration Grounds: 15 Offences Explained.
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