Teacher Shortage Reaches 98,261 as TSC Has Yet to Hire 343,485 Registered Educators
A summary reveals that there are still 343,485 registered teachers who have not been employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), including 134,914 in Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE), 124,061 in primary education, and 84,510 in post-primary education.
As public schools grapple with a worsening shortage of teachers, over 300,000 registered educators remain unemployed.
These figures were shared by outgoing TSC CEO Nancy Macharia, who indicated a national shortage of 98,261 teachers, a situation expected to deteriorate further with the introduction of senior secondary schools in 2026. Macharia linked this shortage to inadequate budget allocations.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba informed the Senate that the TSC has launched an online teacher registration portal to improve the hiring process. He stressed that teacher recruitment is contingent on available funding and authorized positions.
In response to Senator Joyce Korir’s question about unemployed teachers, Ogamba stated, “An analysis of the teacher register shows that there are 343,485 registered teachers not employed by the TSC.” He added that this number includes those working in the private sector or pursuing other careers.
Ogamba acknowledged that the TSC lacks data on ECDE teachers employed by county governments and is working to gather county-specific information on unemployed registered teachers.
Senators raised concerns about the hiring of recent graduates over those who graduated years ago. Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot requested data by county that shows the graduation years of employed teachers and highlights regional disparities, noting, “Some regions have hired graduates as recent as 2017-2018, while others have graduates from 2010 still unemployed.”
Senator Margaret Kamar pointed out that the TSC’s evaluation criteria often favor newer graduates. “Some individuals who graduated in 2010 remain without jobs while those from 2015 or 2020 are hired. We have graduates who have been waiting for over 10 years,” she remarked.
Ogamba admitted that the system has not adequately prioritized older graduates. “It’s true that they should consider those who graduated earlier, but that hasn’t been effective,” he acknowledged. “Some graduates remain unemployed for as long as 25 years. We are considering affirmative action to assist older graduates.”
He promised to address the situation, noting that some trained teachers reach retirement age without ever being employed, which he described as “very frustrating.” During recruitment, Ogamba stated that the TSC is supposed to prioritize earlier graduates to ensure fairness and mitigate long-term unemployment among teachers.
