In the 2026/2027 recruitment, TSC gives preference first to applicants from the sub-county where the vacancy is, then to those from the county, always in order of merit. Preference also goes to applicants who have not previously been employed by the Commission on permanent and pensionable terms. The rules are in Circular No. 20/2026 (primary, 21 October 2026) and Circular No. 15/2026 (post-primary, 13 August 2026).
The order of preference
| Order | Who is preferred |
|---|---|
| 1 | Applicants not previously employed by the Commission on permanent and pensionable terms |
| 2 | Within merit, applicants from the respective sub-county |
| 3 | Then applicants from the respective county |
| 4 | Then applicants from other counties (stated in the primary circular) |
Preference works within merit. The panel ranks applicants by their score on the score sheet first. The sub-county and county rule then decides between candidates in the order of merit.
Where your home sub-county is recorded
The panel records each applicant’s home county and home sub-county, as well as the sub-county and county they applied to.
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Tie-breakers
If applicants score equally, the circulars set out the order for deciding selection:
| Step | Primary posts | Post-primary posts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Length of stay since graduation | Length of stay since graduation |
| 2 | Quality of academic certificates | Quality of academic certificates presented |
| 3 | Professional certificates presented | Quality of professional certificates presented |
| Further tie | A tie in professional qualification points is broken by aggregate KCSE grades or equivalent | A tie at aggregate grades is broken by subject grades |
For post-primary posts, the year you satisfactorily qualified as a teacher, under Commission policies, determines length of stay. The year on your certificate is used to score the qualification part, not length of stay.
Teachers with disabilities
The Commission reserves at least 5% of the advertised slots for teachers with disabilities. They are scored on a separate score sheet. In primary recruitment, a separate merit list is compiled for them.
If you give wrong information
An application or offer of employment based on misleading information is cancelled immediately, without further reference to the candidate.