Crisis looms as schools facing shortage of 100,000 teachers - Report

The just-released report on the state of education in Kenya has raised red flags over critical challenges threatening learning outcomes across the country.

Among the top concerns are a severe shortage of teachers and a lack of basic infrastructure, including toilets, laboratories and classrooms, which continue to impact thousands of learners daily.

Despite the government’s yearly allocation of billions of shillings to the education sector, the grim reality on the ground remains alarming. 

A report by Usawa Agenda and Zizi Afrique paints a picture of an overstretched education system, with a teacher deficit of over 100,000 across the education ladder, from early childhood education to technical institutions.

According to the report, Junior Secondary Schools and secondary schools have the biggest deficit. Only 18,378 junior school teachers have been posted against an optimal staffing level of 83,899. 

24,569 secondary school teachers have been posted against a required 188,378. Technical training colleges face a shortage of 672 teachers. Primary schools, however, are overstaffed by 18,194 teachers.

With only a few months to go before Grade 9 learners transition to senior schools, the report shows that 1,600 schools lack laboratories, a critical component of the competency-based curriculum.

“At the national level, we only have 33.9% of the schools currently offering computer studies. That means these are the only schools ready to offer the new curriculum, where Computer Studies is now a compulsory area,” said Dr. Emmanuel Manyasa, the executive director of Usawa Agenda.

“Out of these 33.9%, 92.9% are actually cluster 1 former national schools, and only 17% are cluster 4, former sub-county schools.”

Apart from laboratories and a shortage of classrooms, the report highlights a worrying trend: more than twice the recommended number of learners are being forced to share a single toilet.

The national average stands at 66 boys and 62 girls per toilet, way above the Ministry of Education’s recommended ratio of 30 boys and 25 girls per toilet.

“During break time, all these kids want to use the toilet and come back to class. When you have 66 of them sharing one toilet, it means some won’t get the chance, or they’ll return late from break — and that has consequences,” Dr. Manyasa added.

But the Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Amb. Prof. Julius Bitok, was quick to dismiss some of the statistics, particularly those on the pupil-teacher ratio. 

He insisted that government records show 434,000 teachers have been hired to serve 1.2 million learners, arguing the gap is not as wide and will narrow by 2027, with more teachers to be hired this financial year.

“434,000 teachers have been hired by the government, so you get 1:29. The global UNESCO recommended student-teacher ratio for secondary schools is 1:35. For primary, or what we’re now calling comprehensive school, it is 1:25,” he pointed out. 

According to the PS, the ministry has already mapped the 1,600 schools that lack laboratories, and construction is set to begin within three months, with a promise that by January, all public schools will be ready for the Grade 9 transition to senior schools.