The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has lauded the government’s move to hire 24,000 more teachers saying the move will ensure the acute teacher shortage, that has been bedeviling the country, is partially addressed.
KNUT Deputy Secretary General Hesbon Otieno noted that there has been a shortfall of 100,000 teachers in the country which has been affecting service delivery.
Earlier, Otieno had lamented that many schools were experiencing a financial crunch following partial or delay in the release of capitation funds, adding that school managers would subsequently be forced to put the burden on parents.
The KNUT deputy boss also urged the government to start preparing for senior secondary school programmes early enough.
Speaking during the 46th Annual Conference of the Kenya Secondary Heads Association (KESSHA) at Sheikh Zayed Hall in Mombasa, Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Ezekiel Machogu said that the recruitment exercise of the teachers to be hired will kick off at the start of the 2023/24 Financial Year.
Machogu noted that the government is committed to act on its promise to hire 60,000 teachers in its first year in office, after in September 2022 it hired 36,000 new teachers.
While the majority of the 36,000 employed in the 2022/23 Financial Year were interns, TSC recruited 9,000 teachers under permanent and pensionable terms.
The government, however, did not break down how many teachers would be employed under permanent and pensionable terms in the 2023/24 Financial Year.
By Fredrick Odiero
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