Thousands of professionally trained teachers who have spent years waiting for employment by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) are increasingly worried that they could reach retirement age without ever securing an opportunity to teach in public schools.
The situation is particularly difficult for teachers aged 45 years and above, many of whom have spent decades seeking employment without success.
While some have resorted to casual labour to support their families, others have taken up teaching positions in private institutions where salaries are significantly lower than those offered in public schools.
Their predicament has reignited debate over fairness in teacher recruitment, particularly following the government's employment of more than 100,000 teachers over the past three years.
Despite the significant recruitment exercise, thousands of trained teachers remain outside the public education system, raising questions about whether recruitment policies adequately consider those who have waited the longest.
Older teachers seek presidential intervention
The affected teachers are now looking to President William Ruto to honour a commitment he made on September 13, 2025, when he met approximately 10,000 teachers at State House, Nairobi.
During the meeting, the President pledged that the teachers would receive priority consideration in future recruitment exercises.
For many of the older unemployed teachers, the commitment represented renewed hope after years of unsuccessful applications.
However, they are increasingly concerned about the limited time remaining before they reach retirement age.
Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary-General Collins Oyuu has appealed to the President to intervene and ensure that older unemployed teachers are not permanently disadvantaged by the recruitment process.
Oyuu has questioned the fairness of a situation in which teachers who have waited for years to secure employment remain jobless while some of their former students have already entered the teaching profession.
The union now wants the government to consider allocating a portion of available teaching vacancies to qualified teachers aged 45 years and above.
Teacher's 24-year wait for TSC employment
For James Cherop, a 52-year-old trained teacher from Baringo County, the dream of teaching in a public school has remained unfulfilled for more than two decades.
Cherop graduated in 2002 and has spent approximately 24 years waiting for an opportunity to be employed by TSC.
After years of submitting applications without success, he eventually abandoned his hopes of securing a public teaching position and turned to casual labour in Nakuru to provide for his seven children.
"I have lost count of the applications I have sent. I lost hope and decided to do manual work," he said.
His experience reflects the difficult choices facing many qualified teachers whose professional training has not translated into stable employment.
Kenneth Rono, a 47-year-old teacher from Bomet County, has also endured years of unemployment.
For approximately a decade, he has survived through casual jobs, including weeding and tea picking.
At one point, he secured employment in a private school, but the institution paid him only Sh7,000 monthly, an amount that proved inadequate to support his four children.
The experiences of Cherop and Rono illustrate the economic difficulties confronting older teachers who have invested years in professional training but remain unable to access stable employment.
Teachers working in some private institutions reportedly earn between Sh6,000 and Sh8,000 monthly, compared with a starting basic salary of Sh26,255 cited for teachers employed by TSC.
Beyond the salary disparity, some private school teachers lack the pension arrangements, medical benefits and other employment protections available to their counterparts in public institutions.
KNUT pushes for priority in recruitment
KNUT is now pushing for a recruitment framework that gives qualified teachers aged 45 years and above a fair opportunity to enter public service.
The proposal seeks to address growing concerns that older teachers could spend their entire professional lives waiting for employment, only to approach retirement without having served in the public education system.
The debate also raises broader questions about the criteria used in teacher recruitment, the treatment of long-serving unemployed graduates and the need to balance new recruitment with the interests of teachers who have waited for years.
While the recruitment of more than 100,000 teachers represents a significant investment in addressing staffing shortages, the continued unemployment of thousands of trained teachers highlights another dimension of the country's teacher employment challenge.
For teachers approaching 50 years and beyond, another recruitment cycle may not simply represent an opportunity for career advancement. It could be their last realistic chance to practise the profession for which they trained.
The situation has renewed calls for the government and TSC to consider how recruitment procedures can balance professional qualifications, experience, fairness and opportunities for younger graduates.
The affected teachers are particularly keen to see the President's earlier commitment translated into concrete recruitment opportunities.
For Cherop, Rono and thousands of others in similar circumstances, the dream is no longer about climbing the professional ladder. It is about securing an opportunity to teach before time runs out.
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