Government moves to address shortage of Teachers at Juniour Schools

Teachers Service Commission, TSC, Boss Dr. Nancy Njeri Machariaq

The Government is keen in addressing the shortage of Teachers at Juniour Schools countrywide. According to the Teachers Service Commission, TSC, the shortage at the Juniour schools stand at over 70,000 teachers.

The Government Spokesman, Isaac Mwaura, has said that the Government is very committed in ensuring that there are enough teachers to handle learners in public schools.

Mwaura stated that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) had recruited 56,000 teachers on permanent contracts while another 20,000 intern teachers were to be hired by January 2025.

“Ongoing retraining is also equipping teachers with the skills needed to implement the new Grade 9 CBC curriculum effectively. In preparation for the transition to Grade 9, the Ministry of Education has conducted pilot assessments to help teachers familiarize themselves with the new assessment categories. This ensures that teachers are ready to effectively assess students under the CBC framework in the upcoming academic year,” the Government Spokesman said in his last media briefing of 2024.

Mwaura’s sentiments have been echoed by Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migosi Ogamba.

“On teachers, the Government, through the Teachers Service Commission, has employed a total of 76,928 teachers. Of these, 56,928are on permanent and pensionable terms while 20,000 are intern teachers.” Ogamba said recently.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba.

TSC will at the same time deploy over 6,000 teachers to Junior schools from Primary Schools this month.

“Qualified primary school teachers will be deployed to Junior Schools to progressively ensure that each school is adequately staffed.” Ogamba confirmed.

Meanwhile, a serious crisis is looming in public schools across the country as a lack of adequate classrooms, delay in the release of capitation funds and books cloud Grade 9 transition according to one of our local dailies.

Continue reading: Ministry of Education Issues Statement on the 2025 Academic Year

The situation is so dire that some schools have reported plans to accommodate the Grade 9 learners in dining halls and laboratories to act as temporary classrooms.

Over 1.5 million learners have transitioned from Grade 8 to 9 this year.

The Competency Based Curriculum, CBC, has been beset by poor capitation, unpreparedness and impromptu adjustments to subject clusters as witnessed in the recent past.

Continue reading: Congested classrooms, lack of learning materials receive Grade 9 learners

There have been persistent fears that the government is not fully prepared to receive Grade 9 learners this year amid concerns about insufficient facilities and teachers.