• President William Ruto outlines faster pension payments during World Teachers’ Day celebrations at Kasarani Gymnasium.
• A pension management system is being used to streamline records and reduce retirement benefit delays.
• The President also highlights investment in teacher training, school infrastructure and higher education funding.
President William Ruto has announced plans to significantly reduce the waiting period for teachers receiving retirement benefits, saying payments could be processed within 10 days of retirement.
Speaking on the government’s efforts to improve the management of teachers’ pensions, Ruto said agencies responsible for processing retirement benefits had assured him that the new system would help eliminate prolonged delays.
Ruto, who joined teachers and education stakeholders at Kasarani Gymnasium in Nairobi on Monday, October 5, as Kenya marked World Teachers’ Day, said the agencies had assured the government that, within the next three months, it would be able to pay a teacher’s retirement benefits within 10 days of retirement.
New system to streamline pensions
The President said the government was relying on the Pension Management Information System to streamline the processing of retirement benefits and improve efficiency.
The system, rolled out on July 1 by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the National Treasury, is being used to upload teachers’ records in an effort to speed up the processing and payment of pension benefits.
Support for CBE implementation
Ruto also highlighted measures taken by his administration to support the transition to Competency-Based Education (CBE).
He said the government had opted to place Junior School within existing primary schools as part of efforts to ease the transition.
According to the President, the pioneer CBE cohort has now progressed to Senior School, while more than 220,000 teachers have undergone retooling to prepare them for the new curriculum.
The government has allocated Sh952 million for additional teacher capacity development, Ruto said, as educators adjust to new learning areas and teaching requirements.
He added that more than 23,000 classrooms had been constructed, while an additional 1,600 laboratories were being equipped to support science education and the new Senior School pathways.
Higher education financing
The President further outlined measures aimed at improving funding for higher education. He said government funding for universities had risen from Sh44 billion in 2022 to Sh82 billion last year.
Ruto said the proposed Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, 2026, would represent the next step in reforming student financing.
The legislation, he said, is intended to ensure that students admitted to universities, technical colleges and the Kenya Medical Training College receive funding.
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Ruto also said overall government spending on education had increased from Sh526 billion in 2022 to Sh784.5 billion this year, describing the allocation as the largest ever made to the education sector.
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