TSC Gives School Heads New Powers Over Teacher Salary Verification

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has announced major reforms to its payroll management system, with payroll verification now moving to school administrators and the adoption of a new TSC-branded platform ahead of the rollout of the second phase of the 2025-2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

The reforms come when many teachers are expecting to get their salaries enhanced from the July payroll.

According to the reforms, the Commission is decentralizing payroll verification through the introduction of a digital Control Sheet in the T-Pay platform.

As opposed to payroll verification taking place only in the Commission headquarters, the Heads of Institutions (HOIs) will now become the first point of payroll verification for all teachers attached to their respective institutions.

Under the reforms, each Head of Institution will have to log in to the digital Control Sheet dashboard and carry out verification of the employment status of all the teachers attached to the respective institution before payment of salaries.

Each teacher should be verified and categorized into either correct, incorrect, passing or not declared.

In case a teacher is not on the register, the HOI should search using the teacher’s TSC number and provide reasons such as transfer in, transfer out, or return from leave before submitting the payroll declaration.

Heads of Schools Assigned More Payroll Responsibilities

Before submission of the Control Sheet, Heads of the various institutions must put in writing that the information provided is correct and therefore become directly responsible for the payroll information emanating from their respective schools.

According to TSC, the new measures are geared towards enhancing payroll accuracy and eliminating cases of anomalies and fraudulent payments through verification of employment records where the teachers are employed.

With the full implementation of the new measures, the Commission is hopeful that there will be fewer instances of underpayment, overpayment, and delayed salary payments.

In order to equip school leaders to take up these responsibilities, TSC has rolled out a national capacity-building program from June 29 to July 9, 2026, that will be conducted throughout all 47 counties.

This program emphasizes control sheet dashboard usage, declarations, handling of missing staff details, and the legal implications of certifying payroll details.

In a circular dated June 10, 2026, signed by TSC Director of Staffing Antonina Lentoijoni, it is stated that County Directors should inform school leaders about training schedules, while Heads of institutions should be mobilized and logistics facilitated.

Also Read:TSC Reveals When Teachers Will Start Earning Higher Salaries

Rebranding of Republic of Kenya Marks Significant Digital Transition

In addition to the payroll changes, teachers accessing the newly revamped T-Pay site have been seeing the new Republic of Kenya seal featured along with the usual TSC logo.

The revamped site accessible at tpay.tsc.go.ke provides an easier way to use the site as it now allows teachers to download P9 forms, send payslip data to banks and SACCOs, and also gives them access to a new “My Documents” section.

TSC has also introduced compulsory validation of teachers’ profiles on the T-Pay portal.

The exercise involves teachers uploading a recent photo with no glasses and no head coverings, validating their mobile phone numbers through OTP, and also verifying their TSC email address.

As per the circular issued on June 8, the exercise has been conducted to enhance the security of teachers’ data in accordance with the Data Protection Act, 2019.

July Pay Rise Changes Finally Come into Effect

These changes occur as TSC prepares to launch the second phase of the 2025-2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement, starting in July 2023.

The money for salary increments totals Ksh 8.4 billion, which is sufficient to cover salaries for the next five years.

TSC Chairperson Jamleck Muturi disclosed the details while speaking at the 49th Kenya Secondary School Heads Association Annual National Conference in Mombasa.

The new salary scale means that teachers in Grade B5 (Primary Teacher II, T-scale 5) will have their minimum basic salary raised from about Ksh 23,830 to Ksh 28,620 – that is an increase of about 29.5%.

At the end of the CBA period, the teachers are supposed to earn about Ksh 37,100.

As for Grade D5 (T-scale 15), the salaries will range from Ksh 135,321 to Ksh 167,415.

Also Read:Council of Legal Education Releases Updated List of Licensed Law Schools in Kenya

Educators Advised to Validate Their Accounts before July 15

The Teachers’ Service Commission has advised educators to validate their profiles before July 15 since unverified accounts might face challenges when accessing T-Pay services and processing their salary payments.

They have been advised to consult their Heads of Institutions or Sub-County Directors to ensure that their profiles are verified before the deadline.

Verification of one’s profile means that personal information cannot be changed anymore and will be used when applying for loans and other transactions in the future.

In June, salaries were paid earlier due to the payroll closure on June 15th.

The salaries were paid to the teachers’ bank and SACCO accounts by June 18th, while clearing all the arrears for recruits, promoted teachers, and those qualified for automatic progression according to the Career Progression Guidelines.

The payroll restructuring comes at a time when the government commits Ksh 4.9 billion in the financial year 2026/27 to upgrade 24,000 Junior Secondary School intern teachers into permanent and pensionable status.

Moreover, Ksh 2 billion from the National Treasury will be used for the promotion of more than 30,000 teachers.

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Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has announced major reforms to its payroll management system with payroll verification now moving to school administrators and adoption of a new TSC branded Republic of Kenya platform ahead of the roll out of the second phase of the 2025-2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). PHOTO/ TSC