Hiring Teachers for a Kenyan School: TSC Registration, Contracts and Foreign Staff

A school is only as compliant as its staff room. Before a Kenyan school can open its doors, or its platform, it needs teachers who are lawfully registered, properly contracted and, where they are foreign nationals, lawfully permitted to work. Errors here are cheap to make and expensive to unwind. This article covers hiring teachers in Kenya in three layers, as at 24 October 2026: registration with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), the employment contract, and immigration permission for foreign staff.

Hiring teachers in Kenya: TSC registration

Section 23(2) of the Teachers Service Commission Act, 2012 says a person shall not engage in the teaching service unless registered as a teacher under the Act. The Act defines a “teacher” as a person trained as a teacher under the law and registered as one, and the “teaching service” as all individuals registered by the Commission and engaged in the teaching profession, whether or not the Commission employs them. The TSC’s own website says it registers all qualified teachers before they can teach in any public or private institution.

Eligibility turns on good moral character and holding a relevant certificate (section 26). Section 27 requires the Commission to refuse registration where the applicant lacks the prescribed qualifications or good moral character, has been convicted of a sexual offence or an offence against a learner, or has another disqualifying conviction. The TSC’s registration page lists the documents applicants upload, including certified certificates, a certificate of good conduct, a KRA PIN and, for non-Kenyans, entry and work permits.

We checked these sections against the Kenya Law consolidation of 11 December 2023, so check for later amendments before you rely on a section number. We found no provision that expressly makes it an offence to employ an unregistered teacher, but the Basic Education Act, 2013 closes the gap in practice. Section 52(1)(b) requires a private school to recruit registered teachers, and section 50(2)(b) says no private school shall be registered if a teacher employed in it is not registered by the TSC. The Basic Education Bill, 2026 points the same way: clause 26(1)(a) would require an institution to have a sufficient number of registered teachers and non-teaching staff before it can be registered. The Bill was at First Reading in August 2026, so it is not law.

The gap for online teachers

The TSC framework was written for classrooms in Kenya. It does not say in terms whether a teacher who delivers lessons to Kenyan learners from another country must be TSC-registered. A school registered in Kenya and teaching the Kenyan curriculum should assume that its teachers need registration. If the model relies on teachers abroad, ask the TSC for written confirmation and keep the reply on file, because the answer will drive both your hiring pool and your registration file.

The employment contract

Under section 9 of the Employment Act, 2007, a contract of service for three months or more (or for a number of working days that add up to three months) must be in writing. Section 10 lists the particulars that the written contract must state, including the parties, job description, start date, place of work, hours, remuneration, pay intervals and the date continuous employment began. For teachers, this means fixed terms should line up with the academic calendar and the school’s own probation, notice and termination provisions should be stated, not assumed.

Section 5 prohibits direct or indirect discrimination (and makes a contravention an offence under section 5(6)) against an employee or applicant, with nationality among the listed grounds. It also provides that taking steps to employ a citizen in accordance with the national employment policy is not discrimination. A school can therefore prefer Kenyan teachers in a considered, documented way, but it should not exclude or underpay foreign staff on grounds of nationality alone.

Foreign teachers and work permits

A foreign national who works in Kenya needs the right permit before starting. The Immigration Department’s eFNS portal lists the classes. Class D is for specific employment with a specific employer, for people whose skills or qualifications are not available in Kenya and whose work will benefit Kenya. Class G covers a specific trade, business, consultancy or profession. Class Q covers prescribed professionals working for religious or charitable organisations and Class I covers missionaries. Class C covers members of a prescribed profession practising in Kenya, and Class R covers East African Community nationals, which matters if you hire teachers from a neighbouring EAC state. The portal does not name a teacher or educator class, so we would expect most foreign staff at a private school to fall under Class D, and a founder working in their own business under Class G. Confirm the class with the Immigration Department before applying. Choosing the class wrongly is a common cause of refusals.

The sequence matters. The TSC asks for the work permit as part of a non-Kenyan’s registration, and the permit is tied to the named employer, so the school’s letter of offer, the immigration application and the TSC application have to tell the same story. Our Kenya Work Permit Navigator sets out the classes, and our guide to employers of record for remote staff covers staff who work for you but live elsewhere. Founders already in the country on the wrong status should read our note on regularisation for foreign business owners.

A checklist before you hire

• Verify the register. Ask for the TSC certificate and number, and check it with the Commission.
• Contract in writing before work starts. Section 10(1) allows the particulars to be given in instalments, but not later than two months after employment begins.
• Permit before payroll. No foreign national starts until the permit is in hand.
• Child-safety checks. Obtain police clearance and references, given the section 27 disqualifications.
• Online delivery. Get the TSC’s written position on teachers based abroad.

In short, hiring teachers in Kenya means checking the TSC register, papering the contract and securing the permit before the first lesson. Skipping any of the three is the usual cause of trouble when hiring teachers in Kenya.

Frequently asked questions

This article is general information on Kenyan law as at its publication date, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an advocate and client relationship.