Teachers should be allowed to advance through their careers while remaining in classroom teaching instead of being required to take administrative roles, Teachers Service Commission (TSC) commissioner nominee Antonina Lentoijoni has said.
Lentoijoni made the proposal during her parliamentary vetting on Thursday, August 20, 2026, saying the current career progression framework has contributed to stagnation among teachers seeking higher grades.
Teacher promotion reforms
Lentoijoni said the 2018 Career Progression Guidelines require teachers to move into administration at certain grades if they want to progress further.
She said this has limited opportunities for teachers who want to remain in the classroom while advancing professionally.
“All teachers were promoted in 2017. We have stagnated for nine years,” she said.
Lentoijoni said the proposed new Career Progression Guidelines would provide two career pathways.
Under the proposed arrangement, teachers who excel in classroom teaching would be able to progress to the chief principal level without having to become administrators.
Teachers who want to take administrative positions would still have the option to follow that pathway.
She also proposed automating the teacher recruitment and promotion process to make it easier for the commission and teachers to track career progression.
The system, she said, should show when a teacher was promoted, the grade attained and the number of teachers who remain at particular grades.
Lentoijoni said the information would help TSC identify gaps and determine where reforms are needed. She noted, however, that promotions beyond entry-level grades remain dependent on available funding.
Teacher shortage
Lentoijoni said the shortage of teachers is more pronounced in junior secondary schools following the transition from the 8-4-4 system to the Competency-Based Curriculum.
She said the transition reduced the number of primary school classes while leaving the education system with teachers who had previously been needed to teach more classes.
“The six classes still had teachers meant for eight classes, and that is where the loss of opportunity for primary school teachers came from,” she said.
She said current recruitment largely focuses on replacing teachers who leave the service and addressing shortages in areas with the greatest need, particularly junior secondary schools.
Lentoijoni proposed that TSC engage Parliament for increased funding to support the recruitment of more teachers.
She also said the commission is transferring qualified primary school teachers to junior secondary schools, creating room for additional recruitment in primary schools.
Pension claims
On pension claims, Lentoijoni proposed automating the process to reduce delays associated with the movement of physical files between TSC directorates.
She said the commission has 10 directorates, making it difficult to track documents when pension officials need files held by another department.
Lentoijoni said stronger systems were needed to protect retired teachers from delays and misplaced files.
She proposed an end-to-end digital pension system that would allow teachers to track their claims throughout the process.
She also said teachers would need to be equipped with the skills to use the digital systems as TSC reduces its reliance on physical files.
Lentoijoni, who has more than 26 years of experience in the education sector, also said she understood the distinction between the role of a commissioner and that of management.
If appointed, she said she would approach the role with a clear understanding of her governance responsibilities and the boundaries between oversight and day-to-day management.
Lentoijoni declared a net worth of Sh38 million during the vetting.
