A stormy session in Parliament on Wednesday, July 10, 2025, saw Members of the National Assembly’s Education Committee sharply criticise the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) over its failure to provide a detailed, county-by-county report on unemployed teachers aged 45 years and above.
The lawmakers accused the Commission of sidelining experienced teachers and withholding crucial data that would assist in making informed decisions on recruitment and education funding.
The clash unfolded as senior TSC officials, led by Acting CEO Evaleen Mitei, appeared before the committee to respond to inquiries about the Commission’s hiring practices and the status of jobless teachers over the age of 45.
The session was convened amid growing concerns that qualified and experienced educators in this age bracket are being locked out of employment opportunities, possibly due to age-based discrimination.
According to Mitei, as of June 2025, there were 39,017 teachers aged 45 and above who were registered but remained unemployed. However, she admitted that the Commission could only verify the county or sub-county of residence for 2,837 of them.
The remaining 36,180 did not provide geographical details during the registration process.
“The registration process is fully automated, and while teachers provide personal details, they are not required to indicate their year of graduation or geographical location by county or sub-county,” Mitei told the Committee. She added that the absence of this data had made it difficult for the Commission to analyse how these teachers are distributed across the 47 counties.
But MPs were unconvinced by the explanation. Education Committee Chairperson Julius Melly accused the Commission of submitting “inadequate and vague” information, insisting that the TSC had access to national identification records that indicate a person’s origin.
“Any public officer applying for a TSC job has an ID card which indicates their location of origin. So, you do have this information,” said Mr. Melly. He demanded that the Commission submit, within two weeks, a comprehensive breakdown of all unemployed teachers aged 45 and above, county by county and sub-county by sub-county.
“We shall not present this on the floor of the House with such an irregularity. How do we assist you in budget matters if we do not have a clear picture of your recruitment needs?” he posed. Melly also reminded the Commission that most counties in today’s system are based on former administrative districts, which should make it easier to trace geographic data, even for teachers who registered before the current county structure was established in 2010.
The TSC’s Legal Director, Cavin Ayur, also addressed the Committee, citing legal limitations in the teacher registration process. He noted that the legal framework governing the TSC Register, specifically Section 23 of the TSC Act, does not mandate the collection of county or sub-county information. “When the law was drafted, it did not require us to collect county-specific data,” said Ayur.
Despite the legal defence, lawmakers pressed further, citing recruitment data from the Commission’s latest hiring cycle. Of the 1,264 applications received from teachers aged 45 and above, only 516 were hired, raising concerns that the rest were excluded due to their age. The bulk of those hired fell between the ages of 45 and 59.
This renewed push for accountability comes in the wake of increasing public criticism that the TSC is marginalising older teachers in favour of younger, less experienced candidates. Lawmakers referenced a landmark 2019 ruling by the Employment and Labour Relations Court that deemed the TSC’s age-based hiring practices discriminatory. The court at the time warned that denying qualified applicants employment based on age violated constitutional principles of fairness and equal opportunity.
As the debate intensifies, pressure is mounting on the TSC to not only produce the requested data but also to review its recruitment policies to ensure inclusivity, especially in light of teacher shortages reported in several counties. The committee’s findings and the Commission’s response are expected to influence upcoming budget discussions and could shape future legislative reforms aimed at promoting fair employment practices in the education sector.
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