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40,000 teachers to be hired by 2026 as shortage persists
Basic Education Principal Secretary, Prof Julius Bitok, before the National Assembly Education Committee on May 13, 2025.
The government plans to hire 40,000 more teachers by the end of 2026 to improve the teacher-student ratio in public schools.
Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok says 24,000 teachers will be recruited by the end of this year, and an additional 16,000 will be hired starting next year. This initiative is part of the government’s commitment to hiring 116,000 teachers within the next five years.
This announcement comes as the National Assembly Committee on Education proposed an allocation of Sh7.3 billion to the Budget and Appropriations Committee this week. The funds will go towards converting 20,000 intern teachers to permanent positions starting July.
Prior to this, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) told Parliament that no allocation had been made to absorb the 20,000 intern teachers into the permanent workforce. The interns had been engaged in January 2025 for one year.
"The committee urges the Budget and Appropriations Committee to provide Sh7.3 billion to ensure that the current intern teachers are absorbed once their internships end later this year," the committee said in its report on the 2025/26 budget.
In April 2025, the TSC raised the alarm over a massive shortfall in teaching staff, both in numbers and qualifications. Appearing before the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee, TSC Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia revealed that the country is grappling with a shortage of 98,261 teachers, a figure projected to rise with the introduction of senior secondary schools in 2026.
"The current shortfall, including junior secondary school educators, stands at 98,261," she said.
While addressing guests at the 60th anniversary celebration of Baringo High School, PS Bitok reaffirmed the government’s commitment to addressing the shortage of teachers. He announced that a major recruitment drive is underway to address staffing needs in public schools.
“The government has decided that this year it’s going to employ 24,000 teachers to get into the payroll of the TSC. Right now, the government has employed 76,000 teachers. We have 24,000 to make it 100,000, which we are going to make happen, and the remaining 16,000 will be hired next year. The government promised to employ 116,000 teachers in five years, so that the pledge in the Kenya Kwanza plan will be complete,” he said.
While presenting in Parliament, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said that 343,485 registered teachers have yet to be absorbed into the public education system, including 84,510 post-primary teachers, 124,061 primary school teachers, and 134,914 Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teachers.
"An analysis of the teacher registry shows that there are 343,485 registered teachers who are not employed by the Teachers Service Commission. The Commission has not obtained data on how many ECDE teachers have been employed by county governments and is in the process of ascertaining this data by county," he said.
The CS said that the hiring of qualified teachers in the public sector depends on several factors, including budgetary allocation, availability of funds, and vacancies in authorised establishments.
"The Commission actively monitors teacher shortages across schools and ensures the immediate replacement of teachers who leave, ensuring continuity in curriculum delivery," said Mr Ogamba.
"In line with the government's goal of equipping graduates with practical skills, the commission engages unemployed teachers through an internship programme. Since its launch, this initiative has provided valuable hands-on experience and improved job readiness for 94,300 teacher interns, as governed by the Teacher Internship Policy and Guidelines of 2019.”
Last year, the government converted 39,550 junior school teachers from contract to permanent positions, and an additional 8,378 primary school tutors were redeployed to teach in junior schools after upgrades were made.
TSC data shows that, in the financial years 2022/2023 and 2024/2025, a total of 68,313 teachers were newly recruited in junior schools, including interns and permanent, pensionable teachers.
According to the 2025 Economic Survey, enrolment in pre-primary schools increased to 2.914 million in 2024, up from 2.885 million in 2023. Enrolment in primary and junior schools grew by 3.2 percent to reach 10,733,300 learners in 2024, while enrolment in secondary schools increased by 5.2 percent to 4,321,600 during the same period.
However, the number of teachers in public primary schools decreased by 3.2 percent to 212,602 in 2024. Conversely, the number of teachers in public secondary schools and teacher training colleges increased from 125,563 in 2023 to 130,818 in 2024.