Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has said the government will promote 50,000 teachers through improved budgetary allocation in the coming financial year.
Prof. Kindiki assured teachers that their concerns have been factored into the 2026/27 budget allocation by the administration, which is keen on improving their welfare.
“In the coming budget, we have factored in money for teachers’ promotions. The target was 25,000 teachers initially, but after further consultations with the unions, the government will now promote 50,000 teachers,” the DP revealed.
Improved teachers’ welfare
Speaking on Saturday during the thanksgiving ceremony of newly elected KUPPET Meru Branch Executive Secretary Njira Muthomi at Kenya Methodist University in Meru County, the DP said some of the beneficiaries have remained in one job group for more than 10 years.
“We are doing everything possible to improve teachers’ welfare through better terms of service and increasing their numbers to reduce the workload of individual teachers,” he added.
To ensure teachers receive adequate health cover through the Social Health Authority (SHA), Prof. Kindiki assured them that their concerns are being addressed.
“We need to improve the SHA packages for teachers. We will expedite the resolution of issues raised by teachers to ensure their health is assured because it is paramount to have a healthy teacher,” he stated.
Prof. Kindiki said the government understands the importance of teachers and would go out of its way to improve their welfare.
“Teachers are the only people who spend most of their time thinking about the welfare of other people’s children more than their own. Because of this, we salute you because you are the best examples of sacrifice for others,” he added.
Education investments
Besides improving teachers’ welfare, the administration has also invested heavily in education infrastructure to improve the learning environment for all learners.
The DP said this has been achieved through a massive increase in the education budget from Sh500 billion in 2022 to Sh765 billion in the next financial year.
Key achievements since 2022 include the employment of 100,000 teachers, with another 20,000 set to be employed in the next few weeks.
The government has also constructed 23,000 classrooms and 1,600 laboratories.
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Additionally, 3,300 tutors have been recruited for TVET institutions alongside the rollout of reforms that have increased enrolment.
JSS autonomy talks
Prof. Kindiki also said the government is considering requests to make Junior Secondary School (JSS) autonomous.
“We have heard your requests to make JSS autonomous. We are going to discuss with various stakeholders to see what we can do as we wait for parliamentary intervention,” he announced.
By John Majau
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