Members of Parliament drawn from the National Assembly Education Committee have backed the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) in calling for the approval of the proposed allocation of Ksh382.3 billion in the 2025/26 budget.
The Committee Chair, Julius Melly, made the plea during a meeting with the Liaison Committee on Friday. Melly stated that this would enable the commission to recruit 18,000 intern teachers, hire 18,000 permanent secondary school teachers, and promote 20,000 teachers.
"These recruitments and promotions will continue to address the gaps in teaching resources as well as motivate teachers in terms of career progression," MP Melly affirmed.
In addition to this critical recruitment of more teachers, the MPs noted that the funding would prove fundamental in other education spheres.
These included a Ksh6.3 billion funding gap for collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) for university staff and Ksh20.9 billion for capitation, scholarships, and loans for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) students.
The latter is expected to also benefit the 2024 cohort, which will join TVET institutions in 2025. Ksh890 million more is being sought to construct TVET institutions in constituencies that lack them.
The plan to hire more teachers comes just a few weeks after graduate teachers raised concerns that the commission was taking too long to issue TSC numbers.
They also expressed their frustration with the duration of the internship programmes, stating that it should be shorter as they had to strain their lives for long periods due to the low remuneration rates.
“We request the government that instead of employing a teacher as an intern for two or one year, that period is enough to change the life of somebody if you give them enough resources,” noted a graduate teacher.
The plan to promote 20,000 teachers has hit several roadblocks since it was announced in 2024.
In early November, TSC's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nancy Macharia announced that 20,000 primary school head teachers who have been waiting to be promoted to Junior Secondary School (JSS) principals would have to wait until a new CBA was signed.
While addressing the school heads at this year's Kenya Primary School Headteachers Association (KEPSHA), he urged them to collaborate with the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) to ensure they are aware of their responsibilities as heads of JSS institutions.
