TSC TPD 2026: What Teachers Must Do in November and December

As of early November 2026, we have found no TSC circular requiring teachers to complete a TPD module during the December holiday. What TSC has said is significant, though. In June 2026, TSC acting CEO Evaleen Mitei said the revised TPD programme would be free, delivered mostly online through a Learning Management System, and that completing a five-year TPD cycle would become a condition for renewing a teacher's practising licence. TSC's learning platform, T-LEARN, is now live with free self-paced courses that award certificates. No official start date for the new TPD cycle or the licensing rules had been published when we checked.

So the honest answer to "what TPD must I do this December?" is: nothing mandatory that we can find, but the break is a sensible time to get ahead. This guide sets out what is confirmed about TPD, what is not, the Term 3 records you should close before you switch off, and a week-by-week planning table for the break that leaves most of it for rest. If you are looking for help planning Term 1 lessons, our separate guide on planning Term 1 2027 over the holiday without burning out covers schemes and timetables; this one is about TSC requirements, records and professional growth.

Information current as of November 2026. TSC circulars, the TPAD portal and tsc.go.ke always take priority over this page. Where we could not confirm something, we say so.

Key takeaways

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• TPD status: TSC said in June 2026 that the revised TPD framework is free, mostly online, and that a completed five-year TPD cycle will be required to renew a teaching licence. No rollout date or licensing regulations had been published when we checked.
• T-LEARN (tlearn.tsc.go.ke) is TSC's learning management system. It lists free self-paced courses, including Teacher Induction, Mentorship and Coaching, ICT Integration and AI in Teaching and Learning, and Lesson Observation using the POPI Cycle, with digital certificates.
• Close before you leave: Term 3 TPAD appraisal, record of work, learner progress records, report cards, mark books, and Grade 10 SBA uploads, which KNEC set for 31 October 2026.
• TPAD matters for promotion: average TPAD ratings over the previous three years form part of the 2026/27 promotion scoring, as Education News reported.
• The break: 26 October 2026 to 1 January 2027 on the Ministry calendar. Plan two or three short work blocks and protect the rest.

What TSC TPD is, and where it stands in November 2026

Teacher Professional Development is TSC's programme of structured in-service training for registered teachers. The idea is not new. In 2021 TSC launched a TPD programme built on modules taken in five-year cycles across a teacher's career, with a fee that teachers were expected to pay, reported at Sh6,000. Teachers' unions and the National Assembly's Education Committee objected, mainly on cost, arguing the employer should pay for training it requires. The programme stalled.

In late June 2026, TSC set out a revised approach. According to reports in The Star (27 June 2026) and the Daily Nation (29 June 2026), Ms Mitei said:

• The new TPD framework had been improved and was ready to be rolled out, but was still being fine-tuned before official launch.
• "We will not charge any money" for TPD.
• Delivery will be mainly online, through a Learning Management System TSC was developing, with a few face-to-face sessions.
• Successful completion of a five-year TPD cycle will be linked to renewal of teachers' practising licences, which would be renewable every five years.
• Classroom teachers' content will focus on pedagogy and classroom practice; principals and deputies will cover leadership, financial management, governance and administration.

Then, in August and September 2026, TSC ran a nationwide Training Needs Assessment under the Kenya Primary Education Equity in Learning (KPEEL) programme. The online questionnaire, which closed at 5 p.m. on 10 September 2026, targeted school heads' associations, trainers of trainers and mentorship champions, and covered TPAD, remote learning methodologies, mentorship and coaching, and school administration. Education News reported that the findings are meant to shape how TPD short courses are reviewed.

Be wary of messages that say "TPD module deadline 31 December" or "pay KSh X to register for TPD". We found nothing official to support either. If you receive one, ask for the TSC circular reference and check it against tsc.go.ke or with your Sub-County TSC Director's office.

T-LEARN: the TSC platform worth an evening in December

T-LEARN describes itself as TSC's digital platform for continuous professional development and capacity building. When we checked it in October 2026, its course list included:

• Teacher Induction, Mentorship and Coaching
• ICT Integration and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Teaching and Learning
• Lesson Observation Using the POPI Cycle
• Transformative Pedagogies in Teaching and Learning
• School Based Teacher Support System (SBTSS) for Mathematics and Science Teachers
• For school leaders: Induction for Heads of Institutions, Performance Contracting for Heads of Institutions, and Risk Management

The platform says courses are self-paced, work on a phone, and lead to digital certificates and CPD points. Nothing we found makes any of them compulsory over the holiday. They are still worth considering, for three practical reasons:

1. TPAD evidence. Under TPAD 3, professional growth is one of the four teaching standards, and CPD certificates are among the evidence teachers upload. Our explainer on every change in TPAD 3 covers the standards.
2. A head start. When the new TPD cycle does begin on an LMS, teachers who already know how the platform works will lose less time.
3. Useful content. The ICT and AI course is relevant to the technology standard in TPAD, and lesson observation is something every teacher goes through.

Use the log-in route shown on the T-LEARN site; we could not confirm from the public page exactly which TSC credentials it uses. If you cannot access it, your school's ICT champion or the Sub-County TSC office can usually help. Do not pay anyone who offers to "complete T-LEARN modules for you"; certificates attest to your own training.

Records to close before the break really starts

Whatever happens with TPD, the records that affect you right now are Term 3's. Close them before you travel, and the holiday is genuinely yours. Our Term 3 record keeping guide covers what each record should contain; the table below is the closing checklist.

Why the Term 3 TPAD deserves extra care this year

Education News reported in 2026 that under the 2026/27 promotion scoring framework, the average of a teacher's TPAD ratings over the previous three years forms part of the assessment for shortlisted candidates. The same outlet reported teachers raising alarm about incomplete TPAD records ahead of promotion interviews, often because a deputy or head had not countersigned. TSC extended the Term 2 TPAD deadline to 24 August 2026 after system problems, so deadlines do move, but a missing countersignature is your problem at interview time, not the system's.

• Check that every lesson observation for the term is recorded and signed.
• Upload your CPD certificates, including any T-LEARN certificates earned this term.
• Print or screenshot your completed appraisal summary and keep a copy in your own file.
• If your appraiser has not countersigned, ask politely, in writing, before closing day.

For more on how promotions are scored, see the TSC promotion scoring system explained.

Grade 10 SBA: the deadline that falls in the holiday

For senior school teachers, KNEC's schedule set 31 October 2026 as the final date for Grade 10 School-Based Assessment scores on the CBA portal, after asking schools to administer, score and upload the written tests by 23 October. Grade 10 SBA counts for 15 percent of the final KCBE score, so an upload that does not happen is a real loss for a learner. If your school's uploads are not confirmed, raise it with the exams officer immediately. Our KNEC CBA portal guide for teachers walks through the upload steps.

November and December duties that are not TPD

Many teachers are not actually free in November. KCSE 2026 runs from 2 to 20 November, and teachers appointed by KNEC as supervisors, invigilators or examiners work to KNEC's schedule, set out in their appointment letters. Our note on KNEC appointment letters covers how those are issued. If you are marking, KNEC's examiner timetable governs your December; plan your own work around it, not the other way round.

Heads and deputies also have end-of-year administration: performance contracting, board meetings, procurement and admissions for 2027, including Grade 7 and Grade 11 intakes. The T-LEARN courses on performance contracting and risk management are aimed squarely at this group.

A planning table for the break

The Ministry's 2026 calendar puts the holiday at 26 October 2026 to 1 January 2027. The Term 1 2027 opening date had not been published when we checked; our 2027 calendar explainer tracks it. The table below assumes you are not on KNEC duty; if you are, slide the work blocks around your duty dates.

Add it up and the school-related work in this plan is roughly three to four days spread across ten weeks. That is deliberate. A rested teacher in January does more for learners than one who worked through December.

One teacher's break, worked through

Take Mrs Chebet, a Grade 10 Biology and Chemistry teacher in a county school in Bomet (a made-up example). She closes on 23 October with her Grade 10 SBA uploads half confirmed. On 27 October she meets the exams officer, they find two learners missing a practical score, and the scores are uploaded and confirmed on 29 October, two days inside KNEC's deadline. She finishes her Term 3 TPAD self-appraisal the same week and asks her deputy, in writing, to countersign before he travels. He does.

She is appointed as a KCSE invigilator, so her first three weeks of November belong to KNEC. In the last week of November she logs into T-LEARN and starts the ICT Integration and AI course on her phone, an hour on three evenings. In early December she downloads the current KICD senior school designs for Grade 11 and writes a one-page outline for each class. By 18 December her certificate is saved in a folder with her appraisal summaries and TSC documents. On 21 December she closes the laptop and does not open it again until January.

Common mistakes teachers make over the break

• Leaving TPAD for January. A Term 3 appraisal without a countersignature can follow you into a promotion interview.
• Paying for "TPD registration". TSC says TPD will be free. We found no official registration fee.
• Believing deadline rumours. No TSC circular we found sets a TPD module deadline this December.
• Scattering certificates. Keep every certificate, digital and paper, in one folder. You will need them for TPAD and, eventually, licence renewal.
• Writing full schemes in December. Until timetables are confirmed, an outline is enough.
• Working every day. Plan the blocks, do them, then stop.

Frequently asked questions

Is TSC TPD compulsory in 2026?

TSC has said a five-year TPD cycle will be required for licence renewal, but as of November 2026 we found no published start date for the new cycle and no module due this December.

How much does TSC TPD cost?

TSC's acting CEO said in June 2026 that TSC will not charge teachers for TPD. The earlier 2021 programme's fee, reported at Sh6,000, was opposed by unions and MPs.

What is T-LEARN?

TSC's learning management system at tlearn.tsc.go.ke, offering free self-paced courses such as Teacher Induction, Mentorship and Coaching, and ICT Integration and AI in Teaching and Learning, with digital certificates.

Do teachers need a licence to teach in Kenya now?

TSC has announced plans for licences renewable every five years, linked to TPD. We found no published licensing regulations or start date yet, so registration with TSC remains the requirement you know.

When is the Term 3 TPAD deadline?

The Term 3 TPAD portal opened on 27 August 2026. We did not find a published national closing date; follow your head of institution's instructions and any TSC circular.

Do T-LEARN certificates count for TPAD?

CPD certificates are evidence under the professional growth standard in TPAD, and T-LEARN issues certificates. How T-LEARN courses will count in the new TPD cycle has not been published.

Conclusion

For November and December 2026, the TSC requirements that actually bite are Term 3's: a completed and countersigned TPAD, closed records, and, for senior school teachers, Grade 10 SBA scores confirmed on the CBA portal by 31 October. TPD itself is changing. TSC has said it will be free, mostly online and linked to five-yearly licence renewal, but no start date or regulations had been published when we checked, and no module is due this holiday as far as we can find. Use one or two evenings to try a T-LEARN course, keep your certificates in one folder, and protect the rest of the break. For classroom preparation, Somo, our CBC AI tutor, can help learners revise over the holiday, and our free lesson plan template is ready for January. We will update this page when TSC publishes the TPD rollout dates.

Sources: TSC acting CEO Evaleen Mitei on the revised TPD and licensing, reported by The Star, 27 June 2026 and Daily Nation, 29 June 2026; TSC T-LEARN platform, checked October 2026; TSC Training Needs Assessment and TPAD reports from Education News (August and September 2026); KNEC Grade 10 SBA schedule; Ministry of Education 2026 school calendar.