Crisis looms as government freezes employment of teachers for a year

The government has frozen recruitment of teachers by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) at least for a year.

Revealing the move, president William Ruto says his government has reached the decision due to cash crunch facing its government.

TSC will only replace teachers who have exited service through natural attrition. A total of 4,676 teachers exited TSC payroll on 30th July after attaining mandatory retirement age.

Already the government suspended recruitment of civil servants by the Public Service Commission.

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria directed the Public Service Commission to suspend all ongoing recruitment of civil servants.

He said the measure is critical in controlling runaway recurrent expenditure and aligns with ongoing austerity measures across government.

Kuria said during the suspension, the government will conduct an audit and clean all public payrolls.

The government was planning to recruit 20,000 teacher interns in July 2024. TSC was planning to recruit 18,000 grade nine teachers and 2,000 P1 teachers.

This is now suspended and was announced by president Ruto after the Finance Bill 2024 was annulled following countrywide ‘Gen Z’ protests.

However Ruto said the plan to confirm 46,000 intern teachers currently on TSC payroll will still go on.

Their absorption into PNP payroll will be financed through budget cuts from other government agencies’ vote heads in the supplementary budget I for the current financial year 2024 – 2025.

A section of P1 teachers are planning to demonstrate at the Nairobi, Upper Hill, TSC offices to call for their employment.

The teachers say their employment by TSC year to year has been a drop in the ocean with only few slots being advertised.

Some of the teachers upgraded their certificates and were awarded the new Upgraded Diploma in Primary Teacher Education.

TSC has been reducing recruitment of P1 teachers significantly following a reduction of two classes in primary schools as a result of the new curriculum.

In fact last year, in its report, the Commission said it has excess of 18,194 teachers in primary schools following scrapping of class 7 and 8.

There are around 350,000 teachers who graduated from colleges and universities but are yet to be absorbed into TSC payroll.