In order to ensure fair distribution of teachers in schools across all regions in Kenya, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is mandated with the management of the teacher transfers in Kenyan schools. As opposed to the transfer requests in the past which was largely paperwork, the commission has digitized most of its services and now teachers can place and monitor their transfer requests online. This has enhanced transparency for teachers seeking transfers.
In this post, we are going to delve into the step-by-step guide on how the TSC teacher transfers work in Kenya. Below is a detailed guide to that effect.
Confirmation of Transfer Eligibility
In order for a teachers to qualify for a transfer from the Teachers Service Commission, he/she must meet certain set conditions which include;
- The teachers must be an employee of the commission, registered and holds valid tsc number.
- The teacher must have served for at least 3 years in his/her current work station. Initially, the commission had set the minimum period at 5 years which was later revised to three. Some teachers may qualify for a transfer from their current station before the lapse of the three years if; the teachers has medical issues that requires him/her to attend to clinics in specific locations, family or spouse reunion to allow the family to live together, security threats in your place of work, administrative reasons either for staff balancing or shortage of teachers in other schools, promotion or appointment to a new job group, compassionate grounds and mutual transfer where teachers may decide to swap.
- The teacher must find a suitable replacement in the requested school or within the county unless under special circumstances such as health, security threats, administrative or public interest, promotion, compassion, legal or disciplinary action.
Logging Into TSC Online Portal
Teachers seeking transfers must begin by accessing the tsc transfer portal at https://portal.tsc.go.ke/.
After accessing the above portal, using your TSC number, ID Number and your registred phone number enter them in the fields provided above. An OTP will be sent to your phone number, enter it into the fields provided to authenticate that its you trying to access the portal. Once you are logged in, you will be able to see the Teacher Dashboard.
Submitting Transfer Request
Once in the Teacher dashboard, click on Transfer and swap and select Request Transfer. A dialog box will open where you need to fill details like profile which is auto filled, length of service, reason for transfer, your prefered county, subcounty and school. If you have supporting documents to fasttrack your transfer request you can upload them and once you are done, click on Submit.
Request Review by the Head of Institution (HoI)
Once you have submitted your transfer request, its reflected in the school portal where the Head of Institution receives the request. At this stage the HOIs have only two options to either recommend the transfer or decline it with reasons. Thier feedback and reasons provided form part of the review process by the commission.
Review by the TSC Transfer Committee
Depending on the type of transfer, the commission has different committees that are responsible for the review of your transfer request. These committess include;
- County Transfer Committee which is in charge of reviewing transfers requested within the same county.
- Regional Transfer Committee which handles transfers within the region.
- TSC Headquartes Committee which is responsible for handling inter-regional transfers.
These committees check for details like availability of vacancies, the subject combinations needed and balance of teachers across the schools.
Swapping or Matching
The Teachers Service Commission transfer system also allows teachers to swap schools where two teachers agree to exchange their work stations. Here the system matches them according to school level, subject combination and location preference. The system starts to look for a match for 90 days and if the match is not found, then the systen extends it for another 90 days before it declines the request.
Tracking Application Status
Once you have submitted your transfer request, you can keep track of your transfer status via the online portal. In the portal, you will see various possible status which include, acknoledged which means the request has been received and is under review, approved which means you have been granted the transfer and Not approved which means there was no vacancy or replacement available.
Issuance of transfer Letter
Once the commission has approved your transfer request, you will receive a transfer letter containing instructions on when to report to your new work station. The commission seeks for proper timing when it comes to transfers. It only effects transfers during the holiday to avoid learning disruption.
Before the teacher moves to the new work station, the Head of institution must release him/her. The release/exit is done through the TSC Entry /Exit portal
Upon reporting to your new station, the HOI submits the entry report and the teacher officially becomes part of the new school staff.
What Teachers Should Know About TSC Transfers
- Teachers should note that the commission can initiate transfer of a teacher without submitting formal application.
- If a teacher is not contented with the transfer and wants to appeal the transfer decision, he/she must first report to the station assigned first.
- If you wish to appeal the transfer decision, do it within the first seven days of the transfer decision. If you fail within the first seven days, then the commission decision is considered final and binding and you must report to your new work station.
- The commission does not consider late appeals unless under special circumstances like illness, official communication delays and other valid documents giving valid reasons.
- If the teacher fails to report to station withing specified time frames, the teacher may face disciplinary action, salary may be stopped and the case treated as desertion of duty.
CONCLUSION
With the advent of online transfers, efficiency and transparency has increased reducing delays and paperwok as teachers can now track their transfer status online and even match/swap schools online. Availability of vacancies and suitable replacements continue to remain the biggest determinant for transfer request approval.
The details above gives insight on how TSC Teacher transfers work in kenya and if you wish to apply for a transfer online, this guide will be of great help. You can give your opinions concerning the tsc online transfer and how effective it is and whether it has helped you when you were seeking online transfer.
