TSC Replacement Posts 2026: 5,609 Primary Vacancies and the County Breakdown

The headline number is 7,720. On Tuesday 10 November 2026, the Teachers Service Commission advertised 7,720 replacement teaching posts for the 2026/2027 year, and the shape of the round is clear at a glance: this is a primary school round. Primary schools take 5,609 of the posts. Secondary schools take 2,086. Junior schools take 25. If you hold a P1 certificate and you have been waiting for a TSC opening, this is the round you prepare for properly.

Why these posts exist

Replacement posts fill gaps left by teachers who exited the service through natural attrition. Teachers retire. Teachers resign and move on. Each exit leaves a class without its teacher, and the Commission backfills those classes in rounds like this one. That is why the posts are permanent and pensionable rather than short contracts. TSC is restoring its normal staffing levels, school by school, on full terms.

The split tells you where the exits hit hardest. Primary schools carry the largest teaching workforce in the country, so they carry the largest share of the gaps. The 5,609 primary posts make up close to three quarters of the whole advert. Secondary schools, with 2,086 posts, form the second block. The 25 junior school posts are a small, specific set, so competition for those will be tight and local.

What the primary 5,609 means for you

A big number helps you only if a post sits where you can take it. TSC has published the breakdown of vacancies by county and sub-county on tsc.go.ke, and that document decides your real chances. One sub-county may hold a cluster of primary vacancies. The next may hold one. Your first job this week is to open that breakdown, find your county, and count the primary posts in the sub-counties you can serve in.

Read the full advert summary on our homepage first if you have not yet — the TSC adverts page with the quick facts and the 23 November deadline puts this post in context. Then sit with the county list. Teachers who skip the breakdown and apply blind often aim at a sub-county where their level has no vacancy at all, and no strong certificate fixes a post that does not exist.

Choosing one post, once

Here is the rule that shapes your whole strategy: you submit one application form. Sending more than one form leads to disqualification. So the county breakdown is not light reading — it is where you make your single choice. Weigh the number of vacancies against the distance you can realistically travel and the community you can settle in. A sub-county with eight primary posts gives your file more room than a famous sub-county with one post and hundreds of applicants.

Check that you meet the bar before you commit. Primary posts need Kenyan citizens who are registered with TSC and hold at least a P1 certificate. Our guide to TSC teacher requirements in 2026, including P1 and registration breaks down each paper, so confirm yours line up before the form goes in.

Timing and the deadline

Applications opened on Tuesday 10 November 2026 and close at midnight on Monday 23 November 2026. That is a short window for a round this size. County lists get shared widely in staffrooms and teacher groups within days, and the popular sub-counties draw heavy interest fast. There is no advantage in waiting. If your papers are ready, apply this week.

When you are ready, follow the official route only. Our page on the official application route to tsc.go.ke explains why there is no app for this and where the real form lives — on tsc.go.ke under Careers and on the Teachers Online portal at teachersonline.tsc.go.ke. Keep your original certificates together as well. If you are shortlisted, you will present the originals at the interview.

The 25 junior school posts

Do not overlook the smallest line in the advert. The 25 junior school posts will draw sharp local competition precisely because there are so few of them. If you hold a Diploma in Education and a junior school vacancy sits in your sub-county, it is a real option — but go in with your eyes open, check the county list for the exact school level listed, and be sure the post is truly a junior school post before you spend your one application on it.

One last warning

Big adverts pull in fraudsters. This exercise is free, from the first click to the final submission. Nobody can sell you one of the 5,609 primary posts, reserve you a sub-county slot, or push your name up a list for a fee. Pay nobody. Apply once, apply in the right sub-county, and let your papers speak.