Most Marketable TSC Subject Combinations

The recruitment exercises by the Teachers Service Commission in 2015 have shown the mix that has highest demand for secondary school teachers. A general pattern that emerges is that which clearly distinguishes a teacher who specializes in languages and that who specializes in math, sciences, humanities and boosters such as business studies, computer studies and agriculture.


The most marketable TSC subject combinations for teachers vary from one county to another. This is because recruitment exercises are based on county merit lists. In this article, we look at the demand both nationally and at county level.

Top 5 Combinations in High Demand Nationally
The following are the subject combinations that have the highest demand in the whole of Kenya. They have been arranged starting with  the most demanded. 
English Literature Combination
Eng/ Lit subject combination is in the highest demand whenever TSC declares vacancies in Secondary Schools. The demand of this combination stands at 29%. That is, out of every 100 advertised vacancies nationally, an average of 29 slots is given to teachers with Eng/ Lit combination. For example, if 600 teaching vacancies are advertised then an average of 167 slots will go to teachers with qualifications in English/ Literature. The high demand for Eng/ Lit is combination is as a result of the fact that English is a marking subject. The high demand is also as a result of the fact that most schools are experiencing challenges in the subject. Many students pull Es in English.

While there can be changes in the marketability of a given subject combination, the changes will be such that the statistics will attempt to attain the mean state. That is, the changes will have very negligible effects in the short term.


Bio/ Agri comes in second place in terms of marketability. However, its marketability is three times less than the one for Eng/ Lit.

 Fig: A marketability chart of TSC Subject Combinations.

Subject Combinations with the Least Demand
The following subject combinations have the lowest demand. For every 100 vacancies advertised, these combinations are given between 1 and 2 slots. The combinations are;
The next subject mixes with the lowest marketability have a demand of between 2 – 4 slots per 100 advertised vacancies. The mixes are;
Marketability Per County
Agric/Bio is a combination to reckon with. It is in top three in most counties; trailing Eng/Lit. Math/Phy is also another combination to take note of.

The high demand for Agriculture/Biology combination is attributed to the fact that a majority of students are shying away from business studies due to the math aspect in it.

Methodology
The number of slots given to each subject combination in a given county was divided by the total number of vacancies in that county. So, for example, if 39 vacancies were advertised for a given county and 14 slots were given to Eng/lit and 2 slots to Geo/ Bio, then the approximate number of English/lit and Geo/Bio slots per 10 vacancies is;

  •  (14/39)X10=3.58 which is rounded off to 4 slots for Eng/lit per 10 vacancies.
  •  (2/39)X10=0.76 which is rounded off to 1 slot for Geo/ Bio per 10 vacancies.
* The number shown besides the subject combination is the average number of slots given to a subject combination per 10 vacancies.

Garissa County
Eng/Lit 3
Maths/Chem 2
Kisw/Hist 1

Mandera County
In Mandera County, the most marketable subject combinations are shown below.
Eng/ Lit. 3
Maths/ Chem 3
IRE/… 2

Wajir
Eng/ Lit     2
Bio/Chem  2
Kisw/ Hist 1

Elgeyo Marakwet
It is of great concern that in the last TSC recruitment that ended on July 2015, there was zero demand for all subject combinations which had Geography in them in this County. Teachers who had a geography in their combinations experienced zero (0) demand. The level of demand is shown below;
Eng/ Lit     2
Math/ Phy  2
Kisw/CRE  1

Mombasa
Eng/Lit 2
Kisw/Hist 2
IRE/… 2

Uasin Gishu
Eng/ Lit     2
Math/ Phy  2
Bio/Chem  1

West Pokot
Eng/ Lit 3
Agric/ Bio 1
Bio/ Geo 1
Hist/CRE 1

Turkana
Eng/ Lit     3
Maths/ Chem     2
Agric/ Bio  2

Baringo
Eng/ Lit     4
Agric/ Bio  1
Math/ Phy  1

Nakuru
Eng/ Lit     3
Agric/ Bio  1
Math/ Phy  1


Bomet
Eng/ Lit     4
Agric/ Bio  2
Kisw/ Hist 1

Kajiado
Eng/ Lit     2
Maths/ Chem 2
Math/ Phy  2
Agric/ Bio  2

Narok
Eng/ Lit     4
Bio/Chem  2
Maths/Bst  1

Laikipia
Eng/ Lit     4
Bio/Chem  2
Maths/Bst  1

Samburu
Eng/ Lit    4
Maths/Bst  1
Kisw/ Geo  1

Nandi
Eng/ Lit     3
Math/ Phy  1
Kisw/CRE  1

Elgeyo Marakwet
Eng/ Lit      2
Math/ Phy   2
Kisw/CRE  1

Kericho
Eng/ Lit     3
Kisw/ Hist 1
Math/ Phy  1

Kisii
Eng/ Lit     3
Kisw/ Hist 1
Math/ Phy  1

Migori
Eng/ Lit 2
Math/ Phy  1
Kisw/ Hist 1

Nyamira
Eng/ Lit     2
Math/ Phy  2
Agric/ Bio  2
Maths/ Chem 1

Homa bay
Eng/ Lit     3
Math/ Phy  2
Bio/Chem  1
Maths/ Chem 1

Kisumu
Eng/ Lit     2
Maths/ Chem 1
Bio/Chem  1

Siaya
Eng/ Lit 2
Maths/ Chem 1
Bio/Chem  1

Nairobi
Maths/ Chem     2
Maths/Bst  2
Hist/CRE 2

Muranga
Eng/ Lit     2
Maths/Bst  1
Maths/ Chem 1

Kirinyaga
Eng/ Lit 2
Maths/ Chem 2
Kisw/ Hist 2

Nyeri
Eng/ Lit 8
Math/ Phy  6
Bio/Chem  3
Kisw/CRE  3

Nyahururu
Eng/ Lit     2
Bio/Chem  1
Math/Phy 1

Kiambu
Maths/ Chem 2
Bio/Chem 2
Eng/ Lit 1

*In Isiolo County and Marsabit County, the number of vacancies was too small (less than 15 in total) to give a clear picture of the courses in high demand in  these two counties.

Tharaka Nithi
Eng/ Lit 3
Bio/Chem  3
Maths/ Chem 2
Maths/Bst  2

Embu
Eng/ Lit     2
Maths/ Chem     2
Bio/Chem  2
Agric/ Bio  2

Kitui
Eng/ Lit     2
Bio/Chem  1
Agric/ Bio  1

Observations
If a person wants to have Kiswahili plus any other humanity subject combination then it’s better to avoid Geography. Geography is no longer selling. Kisw/Hist is the most selling combination for Kisw/Humanity combination.


Any subject combination with Geography has very low demand in more that half of the counties. It is interesting to note that it is only in Samburu and West Pokot where subject combinations with Geography made it to the top 3.