Kenya – TSC Deregisters 33 Teachers Via Gazette Notice After Disciplinary

By Lisbeth Micheni, Kenya

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) on Friday, announced that it had cancelled the appointment of 33 teachers across the country.

The Commission published the names of the 33 affected tutors, a list which is accessible via the Gazette Notice number 9587 released on August 2.

The Chief Executive Officer of TSC, Nancy Macharia who signed the notice, indicated that the cancellation followed disciplinary hearings the tutors were subjected to.

She said: “In exercise of powers conferred by section 30 (2) of the Teachers Service Commission Act, Chapter 212 of the laws of Kenya, the Commission wishes to notify the public that the persons whose names are specified in the Schedule herein below have been removed from the Register of Teachers pursuant to the provision of section 30 (1) (e) of the Teachers Service Commission Act.”

According to the TSC Act Section 30, a teacher can be removed from the register as a result of disciplinary proceedings.

Other causes for removal include obtaining registration through fraudulent means, the conviction of a sexual offence, conviction of a criminal offence, and physical or mental illness rendering the teacher incapable of performing duties.

In the Gazette Notice, Macharia directed that if a teacher’s name is deregistered, it can only be restored by direction of the Commission.

Also, a teacher whose name has been removed from the register shall stop to be a teacher immediately and shall subsequently not engage in the teaching service.

“Further section 44 (b) of the TSC Act provides that a person who falsely or fraudulently holds himself/herself out to be a registered teacher commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand shillings or imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months, or both,” added the notice.

In April this year, the Commission deregistered 65 teachers in line with a disciplinary action but did not specify the infractions incurred.

The Commission, further, did not lay bare the specific charges leveled against the teachers.

In 2023, 73 teachers faced dismissal due to disciplinary issues, with their names and details made public in a Gazette Notice.