The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) has faulted the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for leaving thousands of qualified tutors stuck in the same job group for over a decade despite having the required experience for promotion.

Union officials said at least 130,000 teachers have attended several promotion interviews, in some cases up to four times, without success, leaving them frustrated and demoralised.

“Some teachers have been stuck in the same grade since 2011. If by 2025 they are still in the same position, it means they have stagnated. This is not just unfair, it turns the workplace into a prison,” said Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori.

The officials proposed a structured promotion plan, where teachers in job group C3 should be elevated to C4 after three years without interviews, with interviews only required from C4 to C5 and above.

They warned that the stagnation of teachers is affecting the quality of education at a time when the country is rolling out a new curriculum and struggling with overcrowded classrooms.

The union drew comparisons with recent changes in the National Police Service (NPS), where officers who had been in the same rank for more than a decade were promoted without interviews or advertised vacancies.

The policy, approved by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, will see long-serving officers elevated automatically.

“We commend the National Police Service for announcing promotions for police officers who have been stuck in a single job group for more than 10 years. Under the policy by the service, the service will see the promotion of police officers without the declaration of vacancies or interviews,” Misori said.

Kuppet Deputy Secretary General Moses Nthurima described the freeze on teacher promotions as discriminatory and a sign of the commission’s unwillingness to resolve challenges affecting educators.

“When a government singles out a sector for employment and rewards them with summary promotion, it is curious. It is good that they have promoted police who have stagnated in one job group for more than 10 years, but what about teachers?” Nthurima posed.

Murkomen last week announced that the NPS had lowered the automatic promotion age for long-serving officers from 53 to 50 years.

Under the new rules, police officers who have served as constables, corporals, or sergeants for more than 15 years and are at least 50 years old will be promoted.

Inspectors who have been in their rank for over 10 years and have reached the same age will also qualify.

He added that the ministry was working on strategies to ensure faster transfers for officers to boost efficiency.

“Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, had previously announced that the promotional age of officers who have served for long as corporals is 53 and above; however, this has changed,” Murkomen said.

“The promotion board sat down yesterday and agreed that if a police officer is 50 years old and has served as a constable, corporal, or sergeant for more than 15 years, he will be promoted, and if you have been an inspector for 10 years, you will also be automatically promoted,” he added.