Gov't to employ 20,000 more teachers by July

Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu says the government will employ an additional 20,000 teachers to improve the teacher-student ratio and address the acute shortage being witnessed in the country.

Speaking at Kolanya Girl’s National School in Bungoma County on Wednesday, Machogu noted that the government has already employed over 50,000 teachers since assuming office in September 2022.

“So far since taking office, this government has employed a record 56,750 teachers and as a ministry, we have received additional money to employ 20,000 teachers this financial year,” the education minister said.

The CS also affirmed his commitment to improving school infrastructure across the country.

His sentiments followed an outcry by the Member of Parliament of Teso South Mary Emase, who pleaded with the government to promote teachers as a motivating factor to boost overall performance in school.

Earlier, the school principal noted that they were hard hit by the shortage, with only 40 government-employed teachers against a target of over 65 teachers which is in line with the Ministry of Education guidelines.

Currently, thousands of teachers have yet to secure employment from the teachers' employer, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).

Amid calls for bolstering the local teacher-student ratio, the TSC in February instead said it was in talks with the Ministry of Labor and Ministry of Foreign Affairs among other stakeholders to secure employment for tutors abroad.

TSC Director Legal Calvin Anyuor then argued that Kenya has a surplus of teachers and securing opportunities abroad for them would be a good move.

‘’We have started engaging key stakeholders to export the teaching resource because we have a surplus of teachers in the country. We are engaging the Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant government agencies so that our teachers can go and teach English in Germany,” Anyuor said.

Over 400,000 teachers are employed by TSC and the commission seeks to employ 46,000 teacher interns on permanent and pensionable terms by next year.

The interns are almost completing their two-year contract programme.