WhatsApp Back to top
© Taught by JohnJohn Ouma Otieno

I teach children to speak the language of the future.

Download
my CV
John standing beside a studio chair in an orange blazer and jeans

My story begins with numbers. Mathematics taught me precision. Computing taught me to build. Teaching taught me that neither matters unless a child walks out of the room able to do something they couldn't do that morning.

I studied pure mathematics and computer science at the Technical University of Mombasa, then trained as a teacher at KCA University. Since 2022 I have carried that conviction across borders: to Qardho, to Hargeisa, and now to Djibouti. In every school I have led the ICT department, taught the exam classes and kept the computer lab humming. I write the department's exams, mark them against Pearson grade boundaries, and let the results tell me, honestly, who needs me next.

Beyond the timetable you'll find me running coding and robotics clubs, organising academic competitions and helping colleagues grow confident with digital teaching. I'm registered with the Teachers Service Commission in Kenya, licensed by TVETA, and I hold IELTS Academic 7.5 (C1). I speak English, Kiswahili and Luo, and I have learned to listen in many more.

Current post
Head of ICT & Computing, International Maarif School, Djibouti
Curricula
Pearson Edexcel, Cambridge, Kenyan national, TVET
Candidates
Year 6, Year 9 and Year 11 (IGCSE)
Open to
International posts, including relocation

Journey

From Siaya to the shores of the Gulf of Tadjoura.

  1. 2026 – now

    Head of ICT & Computing

    International Maarif School, Djibouti

    Leading the department and teaching every year group from Year 1 to Year 10, with a seat on the Exams Committee. Here I wrote the Year 1–6 workbooks the school now prints, set Pearson-style exams for Years 4–10, and am planning a VEX robotics, coding and AI lab.

  2. 2024 – 2026

    Head of ICT, ICT & CS Teacher

    Amaano Boarding & Day School, Hargeisa

    Every one of my five 2025 IGCSE ICT candidates passed, an 8 and a 7 among them. I rebuilt the ICT curriculum, brought Python into lessons, trained colleagues, and earned two Certificates of Appreciation from the High School Principal.

  3. John with colleagues at the Amaano Magazine launch, holding a certificate
    Amaano Magazine launch, academic year 2024–25.

  4. 2024 – 2026

    English Instructor

    Tropical Institute College, Hargeisa

    Cambridge English from A1 to B2, walking learners towards Movers, A2 Key, B1 Preliminary and B2 First.

  5. 2022 – 2024

    Head of ICT, ICT & Maths Teacher

    Rays Modern Academy, Qardho, Puntland

    IGCSE ICT and Mathematics for Grades 5–11. I kept the lab and network alive as its technician, and started the school's coding club and STEM activities.

  6. John standing with a group at The Unity ceremony
    The Unity ceremony, Pan-African Institute.

  7. 2017 – 2023

    Teacher, trainer, examiner

    Kenya

    Ramunde Primary, Busiada Girls Secondary and Butula Technical & Vocational College. As a KASNEB examiner from 2018 to 2023, I marked and checked more than 8,000 national exam scripts, each one someone's future.

  8. 2010 – 2023

    Education

    Musingu · TU Mombasa · KCA University

    KCSE A− with an A in Mathematics, a BSc in Mathematics & Computer Science, then a PGDE with Credit.

  9. John in graduation gown and cap
    Graduation day, Technical University of Mombasa.
Download the full CV

Qualifications

The foundations beneath the work.

Degrees

PGDE, Credit
KCA University, 2023. Methods of Teaching Mathematics (A), Teaching Practice (A−).
BSc Mathematics & Computer Science
Technical University of Mombasa, 2018. Pure Mathematics option.
KCSE, A−
Musingu Boys High School, 2013. Mathematics A.

Registration & English

Teachers Service Commission, Kenya
Registered teacher, No. 1150066
TVETA, Kenya
Licensed trainer to KNQF Level 6, valid to Dec 2028
IELTS Academic 7.5 (C1)
June 2026. Speaking 8.5, Reading 7.5, Listening 7.0, Writing 7.0

Still learning

Degree certificates and transcripts are sent gladly on request. Request documents

How I teach

Four promises I make to every learner.

  1. 01

    Capability, not dependency.

    I measure a lesson by what a child can do alone when I step away: write the loop, fix the formula, read the chart. That's why Python and computational thinking arrive early in my classroom, and why most units end with something a learner built with their own hands.

  2. 02

    Demanding without demeaning.

    I hold every learner to Pearson and Cambridge standards from Year 1, and I hold their dignity just as firmly. High expectations, clear routines and genuine warmth can share the same room. Safeguarding and behaviour are not extras; they are the ground everything else stands on.

  3. 03

    Excellence is substance, not appearance.

    Beautiful slides don't change grades. Honest assessment does. My candidates at Year 6, Year 9 and Year 11 sit papers that mirror the real exam, graded on the real boundaries, and I track every learner so I know who needs me next week, not next term.

  4. 04

    Everyone in the room.

    My classrooms are mixed-ability, often multilingual, and home to learners with SEN. I plan more than one road through the same lesson, so the quickest are stretched and every other learner still arrives.

Observed, scored, and still climbing

  1. Oct 2024Year 9, Excel84%
  2. Aug 2025Year 11, Transactional data87%
  3. Apr 2026Form 1, Introduction to Python90%

Scored by school leadership in formal observations at Amaano. Three lessons, three years, and each one better than the last. Read the observers' words

Vision

Every life needs a reason that outlasts it. Mine is a vision I call SOUL, Spirit Of Unconditional Love. It exists

to cultivate wisdom, honour unconditional love, develop human potential and build enduring institutions whose excellence creates meaningful value for generations.

In practice it means teaching with my whole heart, building institutions that last, such as Doxah Systems, and serving people far beyond the school gate. Its seed is a single verse, Isaiah 60:15b: “I will make you an eternal excellence, a joy of many generations.”

Recognition

Moments that said the work was seen.

  • 2025 · Amaano

    100% IGCSE ICT pass rate

    All five candidates passed at grade 4 or above, with an 8 and a 7 among them.

  • 2024–26 · Amaano

    Two Certificates of Appreciation

    From the High School Principal, for leading the Academic Competition and serving as its IT Specialist.

  • 2014–18 · Kenya Red Cross

    Certificate of Merit

    For first aid, peer education, community volunteering and blood donation drives.

A note from John

To the school leader reading this

Thank you for staying a while.

You are not just filling a post. You are choosing the person your learners will spend hundreds of hours with: the voice that will either open the world of technology to them, or quietly close it. I don't take that lightly.

You probably want to know three things. Can I teach your syllabus? Will your learners' results rise? Will I fit into your team? The first two I have tried to answer here with evidence: the courses I've taught, the grades my candidates earned, and observation scores that climbed every single year.

The third is a conversation I would love to have. I have taught in four countries and stood beside colleagues from many cultures, and every staffroom has made me a better teacher. Tell me about yours.

With warm regards,
JohnDjibouti