Only 65 of about 21,000 public primary schools are headed by people younger than 35, according to an audit by the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC). The figure raises questions about how many chances young teachers get to move into school leadership.
NGEC Chief Executive Officer Dr Purity Ngina said the number is disproportionately low, because teachers aged 18 to 34 make up 32.5 per cent of the teaching workforce.
The numbers
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Public primary schools | About 21,000 |
| Schools led by someone under 35 | 65 |
| Share of schools | About 0.3 per cent |
| Teachers aged 18 to 34 | 32.5 per cent of the teaching workforce |
The calculation: 65 ÷ 21,000 = 0.0031, or about 0.3 per cent.
‘Only 65,’ Dr Ngina said. ‘Those are the only schools led by young people.’ She asked why young teachers are not being given leadership opportunities when they have the capacity to manage schools.
What the audit covered
The findings come from NGEC’s report ‘Teachers of Kenya: Status of Equality and Inclusion in the Teaching Workforce in Kenya, 2025’. The commission audited teachers employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) as at June 2025 and released the report in July 2026. The audit examined 425,613 teachers across 34,630 public primary schools, junior schools, secondary schools and teachers’ training colleges.
It did not cover private school teachers, teachers employed by county governments or teachers engaged by boards of management. TSC worked with NGEC on the data collection tool and welcomed the audit.
Other findings from the report
- Women make up 50.2 per cent of TSC teachers but hold 27 per cent of headship positions in public institutions.
- Women are about 55 per cent of primary school teachers but hold 24.2 per cent of primary headships.
- Teachers with disabilities are 1.7 per cent of the TSC workforce, below the five per cent benchmark in the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2025.
- Teachers from marginalised communities are 2.5 per cent of the workforce (10,820 of 425,613).
What NGEC is asking for
NGEC wants young teachers given opportunities to take up leadership responsibilities in schools.
Read: TSC Recruitment November 2026: What Is Confirmed and What to Prepare