Last reviewed: 25 October 2026
Private tuition is one of the most common side incomes for teachers, university students and graduates in Kenya, and the shift to the Competency-Based Curriculum has increased demand. Many parents feel unsure how to help with CBC projects, school-based assessments and the new junior and senior school learning areas. If you know a subject well and enjoy explaining it, tutoring can work for you. This guide covers how to start properly.
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1. Choose what you will teach
Parents search by learning area and grade, so be specific. “Grade 7–9 Mathematics and Integrated Science” is easier to trust than “all subjects”. Stick to what you can teach well at that level. Popular areas include Mathematics and English at every level, Kiswahili, Integrated Science and Pre-Technical Studies in junior school, the senior school sciences, early reading and numeracy for PP1 to Grade 3, and IGCSE subjects in the big towns.
2. Learn the CBC side of the job
Parents of CBC learners often want help with more than tests. Read the learning area’s curriculum design for your grade so you know the strands and sub-strands, and understand how school-based assessments and projects work. Your role is to guide the learner to do the work, never to do it for them. Schools notice, and it does the child no good.
3. Set a fair rate
Published rates we found in October 2026 range from about KSh 500 to KSh 1,000 an hour for most CBC and JSS tuition, with higher rates for senior school sciences, IGCSE and experienced teachers in Nairobi. See our tutor rates guide for sources. Starting near the local going rate and raising it as you build results and references is a sensible approach. Decide in advance your rules on travel, cancellations and group lessons.
4. Safeguarding: protect learners and yourself
- Teach in shared spaces at home, with a parent or adult present or nearby.
- Communicate with the parent, not privately with the child, especially on WhatsApp or social media.
- For online lessons, use a platform the parent knows, and keep the camera on.
- Never take photos of learners or share their work online without the parent’s written permission.
- If a learner tells you something that suggests they are at risk, contact Childline Kenya on 116, which is free.
5. Simple paperwork
- KRA PIN. You need one to pay tax on tutoring income, which is taxable like any other income. You can register on iTax.
- Business name (optional). If you want a brand name, the Business Registration Service on eCitizen registers business names. Huduma Global’s 2026 guide puts the cost of a sole proprietorship at about KSh 1,000 (Huduma Global).
- Data protection. You hold children’s names, schools and results. Kenya’s Data Protection Act, 2019 applies, so keep records private, collect only what you need, and delete them when you stop teaching a learner.
- TSC registration is needed to teach in schools. It is not needed to tutor privately, but if you are registered, parents value seeing your TSC number.
6. Write a profile parents trust
Keep it short and concrete: what you teach, which grades, your qualification or experience, and how a lesson runs. For example: “B.Ed (Science), three years teaching Integrated Science at a junior school in Ruiru. First lesson is a short diagnostic task; I send parents a two-line update after every session.” Avoid exam-result promises you cannot guarantee.
7. Find your first students
- List yourself free on the CBC Guides tutor directory. A person checks each profile, and your phone number is shown only to logged-in users.
- Ask your network: churches, estate WhatsApp groups and parents you already know.
- Offer a paid trial lesson so parents can see how you teach.
- Collect references. After a term, ask happy parents if a new parent may call them.
8. Keep good habits
Arrive on time, prepare every lesson, give short updates and be honest when progress is slow. In tutoring, word of mouth is everything. Most tutors get their next students from the parents of their current ones.
Teachers looking for full-time posts can also browse the teacher jobs board.