Teacher Shortage In Kenya Stands at Over 90,000 — TSC report.
According to the Teachers Service Commission’s 2021 Annual Report, the teachers’ shortage stood at 99,213 in primary and secondary schools.
In the report, which was presented to the National Assembly, the figure represented 44,134 and 55,079 primary and secondary school teachers, respectively.
The Teachers Service Commission declared 2,945 vacancies in January this year to replace teachers who left the service due to natural attrition.
To address teacher shortages, the government authorized TSC to hire 5,000 teachers per year under Vision 2030’s Medium-Term Plan III.
Despite these efforts, due to financial constraints, the demand for teachers has not been met.
The report stated that there is an urgent need to engage the National Assembly in allocating adequate funds for the recruitment of additional teachers in order to alleviate the shortage.
TSC intends to lobby Parliament for additional funding for teacher recruitment.
The commission, on the other hand, stated that its budget allocation had been increased over the previous fiscal year.
During the fiscal year under review, the commission’s total annual budget increased from Sh256.1 billion in 2019-2020 to Sh275.5 billion in 2020-2021.
“This enabled the commission to undertake major projects such as recruitment of additional teachers, implementation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and training of teachers on Competency Based Curriculum,” it said.
TSC also intends to create mechanisms to enforce teaching standards, form partnerships and collaborations, and begin educating teachers about professionalism and integrity.
The commission is responsible for registering trained teachers, recruiting and employing registered teachers, assigning teachers to service, promoting and transferring teachers, and exercising disciplinary control over teachers.
In addition, review education and training standards for those entering the teaching profession; assess teacher demand and supply, and advise the national government on matters pertaining to the teaching profession.
During the fiscal year under review, the commission also worked to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and responsiveness to customer needs at all levels by strengthening integrated support systems and structures.
To that end, an additional 58,000 teachers’ files were electronically captured, making 205,00 files digitally accessible.
However, the commission admitted that it had several shortcomings in ensuring that only registered teachers provided services in schools.
The Constitution and the TSC Act (2012) both state that no one may work as a teacher unless they are registered with the commission.
The commission stated that it would create a strong mechanism to ensure the registration of all those involved in teaching, particularly in private institutions.
During this time, the commission signed an agreement of recognition with the Kenya Union of Special Education Teachers.
It also created a flexible working arrangement policy, risk analysis, and automated key functions to broaden the scope of its services’ accessibility.
The commission trained 131,275 master trainers, trainers of trainers, and teachers to help with CBC implementation.
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42,795 teachers were registered during this time period. Furthermore, the commission employed 13,124 teachers, and 6,705 teachers were posted, transferred, or deployed in different stations.
Natural attrition caused 8,124 people to leave the service, while 12,000 intern teachers were hired.
According to the report, 115,110 teachers were promoted through a competitive process, affirmative action, and common cadre establishment.
