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The Teachers Service Commission, TSC, has estimated that public schools have a shortage of about 96,345; . This includes 38,054 at the primary school and 58,291 at the post primary school levels. This is despite the Commission’s efforts to recruit new teachers. But, according to TSC, the shortage has been worsened by  the rapid growth in school enrollment attributable to the implementation of the Free Primary Education (FPE) and
Affordable Day Secondary School Education programs as well the establishment of new schools.

This has forced schools to engage the services of 80,000 teachers on Board of Management, BOM, terms.

The Commission says it has so far recruited 28,843 teachers new teachers over the last five years; since 2014. Over this period, the primary schools benefited by getting 8,390 slots while 20,453 were recruited for secondary schools.

HOW TSC INTENDS TO SOLVE TEACHER SHORTAGE PROBLEMS

Fast forward, the Commission intends to solve the teacher shortage nightmare by applying ‘innovative approaches such as recruitment of teachers on contract basis, institutionalize the internship program for teachers and in certain cases the sharing of teachers across schools for elective subjects.’ On the Internship programme, the Commission proposes that teachers who may need to be given the registration number must first work as interns. According to sentiments by the TSC bos, Dr Macharia, Graduate teachers would be issued with teaching certificate and registration certificate after the successful completion of the internship programme at an assigned school.

 DISPARITIES IN TEACHER DISTRIBUTION

The Commission reckons that schools with same enrollment are having different staffing establishments. This is largely due to ‘insecurity in some counties, political and stakeholder interference in the distribution of teachers, preferences by teachers for urban and high potential areas, unwillingness of teachers to be separated from their families, medical consideration among other reasons.’

MOST UNDERSTAFFED SUBJECTS.

TSC is facing serious staffing challenges in majorly areas (subject combinations); ‘Humanities, Kiswahili, Physics and Computer Studies. Further to this, the shortage of teachers for Physics and Computer studies has been occasioned by the mobility of these teachers to the private sector.’

ONLY 11,177 TEACHERS COMPETITIVELY PROMOTED SINCE 2014.

TSC has advertised 11,177 promotion vacancies in the last five years, since 2014. The Commission promoted 11,177 teachers competitively through advertised posts. These were teachers promoted from Job groups K to R, in addition to 35,887 teachers upgraded through the common cadre provision. The Commission attributes this low numbers to budgetary constraints. The Commission intends to come up with incentives in the near future to try and turn things around; as most teachers who have stagnated in our job group are demoralized and demotivated.

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