The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has issued an operational guide that shows heads of institutions (HOIs) how to access and update their school's Curriculum-Based Establishment (CBE). This article explains what the CBE is and walks through the update step by step, following the TSC guide.
What the Curriculum-Based Establishment is
The Curriculum-Based Establishment is TSC's staffing formula. It sets how many teachers an institution needs, based on its classes, the subjects taught, teaching loads and enrolment. It is not the same thing as Competency-Based Education, the curriculum reform, although the two are connected, because the new curriculum changes which subjects and classes a school has.
TSC says the guide is meant to standardize institutional data and make sure teacher deployment, subject enrolment, instructional classes and Special Needs Education (SNE) learner enrolment are captured accurately. TSC links the exercise to the rollout of its Transfer Module, since accurate staffing data supports transfers and deployment decisions.
What you need before you start
- Your TSC number and password. The login is the same one used for the Declaration of Income, Assets and Liabilities system on the Teachers Online Services (TOS) platform at https://tsconline.tsc.go.ke/.
- Accurate information about the teachers in your institution, the subjects taught, your classes and, where applicable, SNE learners.
Accessing the portal
HOIs access the Curriculum-Based Establishment through the official HOI Portal at https://erp.tsc.go.ke/. If the link does not open for you, reach the HOI Portal through the Online Services section on the TSC website (www.tsc.go.ke). After a successful login, the system shows a dashboard with a summary of your institution.
How the update works
TSC describes the update as a sequence: access the HOI Portal, open the Curriculum-Based Establishment module, enter the required institutional data, then verify and submit the information under the functional areas in the module.
Step 1: Log in
Sign in at the HOI Portal with your TSC number and password, and review the dashboard summary.
Step 2: Open the CBE module
Select the Curriculum-Based Establishment (CBE) module from the portal menu.
Step 3: Check the Teachers on Duty list
This section shows your institution's details and the list of teachers assigned to it.
- If a teacher who is at your school is missing, use Add Missing Teacher.
- If a teacher on the list is no longer attached to your institution, use the Actions option to mark them Not in My School.
Step 4: Review Subject Enrollment
This section lists the available subjects, matched to each teacher's approved subject combination.
- If a subject is missing, use Add Subject.
- After you update the subjects, the system automatically calculates the load of the Head of Institution, the Deputy Head and the Head of Department. The total instructional workload is the sum of these.
Step 5: Check Institution Classes
The instructional classes depend on your institution's category, and the classification includes Junior School and Senior School. If instructional loads are set incorrectly, you may edit the entries so that they reflect your actual class organization and instructional demands.
Step 6: Enter Special Needs Education enrolment (if applicable)
If your institution offers SNE, record the learner enrolment under the relevant categories, then save the information to complete the update.
Step 7: Verify and submit
Review all entries, then submit the compliant and updated CBE information to complete the process in support of the Transfer Module.
Tips for an accurate update
- Check the teachers list against your staff records before touching subjects, because errors there flow through to the workload calculations.
- Only mark a teacher Not in My School when they are truly no longer attached to your institution.
- Add a subject only if it is genuinely taught and matches a teacher's approved subject combination.
- Keep your own copy of the final figures, in case of later queries from your sub-county or county office.
Frequently asked questions
Is the CBE the same as the Competency-Based Education curriculum?
No. Here CBE means Curriculum-Based Establishment, which is the staffing formula. The curriculum reform is a separate matter.
Who updates the CBE?
Heads of institutions, using their HOI Portal login.
Which login do I use?
The same TSC number and password you use for the Teachers Online Services and the declaration system.
What if a teacher is missing from the list?
Use Add Missing Teacher in the Teachers on Duty section.
Why does the update matter?
TSC uses the data to capture deployment accurately and to support the Transfer Module.