Court Directs TSC to Restart CEO Recruitment
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will have to begin the search for a new chief executive afresh after the High Court invalidated the commission’s previous recruitment advertisement.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will have to begin the search for a new chief executive afresh after the High Court invalidated the commission’s previous recruitment advertisement.
The court found shortcomings in the process used to invite applications for the position, particularly the amount of time candidates were given to submit their applications and the information contained in the vacancy notice.
The advertisement was published in May 2025, but applicants were allowed only 13 days to apply. The court determined that this fell short of the period required under the commission’s human resource guidelines.
The court also found that the advertisement did not indicate the proposed salary and other remuneration attached to the CEO position, information that should have been included when the vacancy was announced.
The case was filed by Kiambu resident Simon Kariu Kimaita, who challenged several aspects of the recruitment process. Among the issues raised was the requirement that candidates seeking the position hold a degree in education.
Kimaita argued that the academic requirement could exclude qualified professionals from other fields who possess experience in areas such as management, law, finance, governance and public administration.
He also questioned the experience threshold set by the commission, arguing that the requirements could unnecessarily limit the pool of potential candidates.
However, the court did not agree that the education qualification requirement was unlawful.
The judge found that TSC’s mandate is closely connected to the teaching profession and that requiring its chief executive to have an education background was reasonably linked to the responsibilities of the office.
The court therefore left the statutory qualifications for the position intact while faulting the manner in which the recruitment exercise had been conducted.
TSC will now be required to publish a new vacancy notice and allow applicants the required period to submit their applications.
The commission will also have to provide all the necessary information concerning the position, including details relating to remuneration.
The recruitment dispute comes as TSC continues with an interim leadership arrangement following the completion of Nancy Macharia’s tenure as commission secretary and chief executive.
Evaleen Mitei has been overseeing the commission as acting Secretary and CEO as the search for a substantive office holder continues.
The court’s decision means applicants who had participated in the earlier recruitment exercise will have to go through the process again once the fresh advertisement is issued.
The ruling does not remove the education and experience qualifications that had been challenged. Instead, it requires TSC to correct the procedural shortcomings identified by the court and restart the recruitment process.
