- Teachers are increasingly measuring government commitments against what actually reaches their classrooms and payslips.
- Yabesh Onwonga argues that recruitment controversies, internship conditions and delayed expectations are eroding confidence among educators.
- He says teachers now want transparent systems and implementation rather than another round of political promises.
Kenya’s teachers are discovering a painful truth about government promises: A microphone at State House does not turn words into money, promotions, medical cover or decent working conditions.
For years, teachers have been courted with grand declarations, warm handshakes and carefully staged meetings. They have been promised promotions, improved career progression, housing and better medical cover.
Now the applause is dying.
What remains is impatience.
And the government should not be surprised.
Teachers are not stupid. They can count. They know the difference between a promise and a policy, between an announcement and implementation, between political theatre and actual reform.
They have heard enough.
The latest frustration is particularly embarrassing because President William Ruto has made teachers a recurring feature of his political messaging. Yet the very people expected to educate the next generation increasingly feel that government promises are being treated like disposable campaign slogans.
That is not leadership.
It is political advertising.
The government can point to numbers. TSC has advertised thousands of promotion opportunities and 20,000 permanent teaching positions, while the 2026/27 budget provides for additional recruitment and promotions.
But numbers announced from Nairobi do not automatically translate into relief in a classroom in Turkana, Kisumu, Bungoma or Kilifi.
Teachers want implementation.
They want to know when.
They want to know how.
And most importantly, they want to know whether the promises apply to them — not merely to the next election cycle.
The government’s credibility problem is compounded by the controversy surrounding teacher recruitment itself. Recent claims that politicians have been handed employment letters for distribution to constituents have raised explosive questions about political interference in the Teachers Service Commission. Unions have condemned the alleged practice, while TSC has rejected the claims and maintained that teacher recruitment and employment are exclusively its mandate.
Nothing destroys morale faster than telling qualified professionals to compete fairly while allegations persist that politicians may have a shortcut.
Imagine spending years earning a teaching qualification, applying repeatedly, attending interviews and waiting for employment — only to hear allegations that somebody’s political connection may matter more than merit.
That is how you manufacture bitterness.
That is how you turn educated citizens into cynics.
And that is how institutions lose legitimacy.
Professionals cannot survive on promises
The government cannot demand excellence from teachers while giving them uncertainty in return.
Earlier this year, junior-school intern teachers protested over pay and their employment status, with teachers arguing that the Sh17,000 monthly stipend was inadequate and that prolonged uncertainty was taking a toll.
These are not abstract policy arguments.
They are people.
They have rent to pay. Children to feed. Transport to afford. Families depending on them.
Yet Kenya has somehow become comfortable asking professionals to survive on promises.
There is also something profoundly insulting about political leaders repeatedly appearing before teachers to announce good news while teachers later discover the fine print, delays and conditions.
If the government cannot deliver, it should stop promising.
That would at least be honest.
Teachers do not need another motivational speech. They need functioning systems.
They need transparent recruitment.
They need predictable promotions.
They need decent pay.
They need reliable medical protection.
They need proper staffing.
They need classrooms that are not overcrowded and schools that are not starved of resources.
And they need government officials to understand that respect is not measured by how many teachers are invited to State House.
It is measured by what happens after the cameras leave.
Trust cannot survive endless promises
The most dangerous mistake the government can make is assuming teachers will remain patient indefinitely.
They are already speaking louder.
Their unions are restless. Their members are frustrated. Their trust is being stretched.
And once trust collapses, no number of presidential promises will rebuild it.
State House cannot become a factory for political pledges that expire at the school gate.
Kenya’s teachers deserve something radically unfashionable in government circles: a promise that is actually kept.
No theatrics.
No slogans.
No political seduction.
Just delivery.
Because teachers have spent their careers teaching Kenyan children that words should have meaning.
READ ALSO: KRA: Three years of service not enough as employees must also pass 31 percent gratuity test
Perhaps it is time the government attended the same lesson.
Yabesh Onwonga is a history and language analyst.
By Yabesh Onwonga
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