TSC to Hire 16,000 Teachers Amid KUPPET Push to Confirm Interns

The government is set to recruit 16,000 teachers in July in a move which is aimed at easing the growing pressure facing public schools across the country due to persistent staffing shortages.

Head of Public Service Felix Koskei said the recruitment drive is part of the ongoing efforts to strengthen the education sector and support the implementation of the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC), which has significantly increased the demand for teachers, especially at the junior secondary sector.

The planned recruitment comes at a time when many schools continue to struggle with teachers handling large class sizes and many subjects under the new curriculum structure.

Koskei noted that bringing in additional teachers will help reduce workload pressure and improve learning outcomes for students, especially in regions where teacher-to student ratios remain relatively high.

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KUPPET React

However, the announcement has drawn mixed reactions from the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), which welcomed the move but also insisted that the government must also address long standing welfare concerns that are affecting teachers.

KUPPET officials said recruitment alone will not resolve all the challenges that they are facing, including delayed promotions, medical cover concerns, and the fate of thousands of intern teachers whose contracts were recently declared unconstitutional by the Court of Appeal.

The union has continued to push the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to employ more than 44,000 junior school intern teachers on permanent and pensionable terms, arguing that many have served for years while performing the same duties as fully employed teachers but without equivalent benefits.

Learners To Benefit

Education stakeholders say the upcoming recruitment exercise could help stabilize learning in public schools, particularly as enrolment continues to rise under the government’s 100% transition policy from primary to secondary school.

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KUPPET Demand Stability

KUPPET still maintains that stability in the education sector will depend not only on hiring more teachers but also on improving working conditions and ensuring adequate budget allocations to sustain staff.

The July recruitment is expected to provide relief to thousands of unemployed trained teachers across the country while helping lift a burden in classrooms that have struggled with staffing shortages for years.

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