No More KSh 6,000 for TPD: Ruto Directs Government to Pay for Teachers’ Training

Teachers Celebrate as President Ruto Shifts KSh 6,000 TPD Burden to Government

President says the State heard teachers’ complaints and has set aside Ksh 900 million in the 2026/2027 budget to absorb the cost of training

NAIROBI, Monday, October 5, 2026 – Teachers will no longer pay out of their own pockets for the short courses that determine whether they can keep teaching. President William Ruto announced on Monday that the government will meet the cost of Teacher Professional Development (TPD) programmes, ending a charge that had angered teachers for years.

Speaking during World Teachers Day celebrations at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, before thousands of teachers, the President said his administration had heard the complaints about the cost of training and had decided to take on the burden.

Teachers were previously required to pay Ksh 6,000 for each TPD module. The government has now allocated Ksh 900 million in the 2026/2027 budget for teacher capacity building, which will cover the cost.

The announcement drew applause from the crowd. For many teachers, it is a major relief.

A cost teachers have long complained about

TPD has been one of the most contentious issues in the teaching profession in recent years. The programme is meant to keep teachers up to date with changes in technology, pedagogy and the curriculum. Few teachers disagree with the idea. What they objected to was the bill.

At Ksh 6,000 per module, the fee was a significant expense for teachers already managing loans, school fees for their own children, rent and other obligations.

For a primary school teacher in a lower job group, the amount represents a considerable portion of a month’s take-home pay. Teachers argued that since training is a requirement set by their employer, the employer should pay for it.

The President’s announcement effectively accepts that argument. By funding the programme directly, the government has removed a financial barrier that many teachers said unfairly burdened them for something they were obliged to do.

Why TPD matters so much

The stakes of the programme are high. Under the TPD framework, teachers are required to undertake six modules over a thirty-year career.

Completing these modules is a prerequisite for obtaining a teaching certificate, the professional licence that must be renewed every five years.

The law is strict on this. Section 35 of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Act stipulates that a teacher who fails to undertake the prescribed professional development, or who does not hold a practising certificate, is prohibited from teaching.

In practice, this meant a teacher who could not afford a module risked being barred from the classroom. A training programme intended to improve teaching had, in the eyes of many teachers, become a financial hurdle tied to their livelihoods.

That is why the cost was so contentious, and why the President’s decision carries weight beyond the Ksh 6,000 itself.

On paper, the requirement is a standard institutional mandate. For the average classroom teacher, however, the optics were different.

A compulsory programme, a licence at stake and a fee payable by the teacher made for a combination that fed years of resentment. Removing the fee takes much of the sting out of the system.

TSC consults on training needs

The announcement comes as the Teachers Service Commission prepares to relaunch the programme. On September 10, TSC closed an online Training Needs Assessment (TNA) survey, aimed at ensuring that the training teachers receive matches what they need.

The survey was conducted under the Kenya Primary Education Equity in Learning (KPEEL) Programme.

It was a nationwide digital instrument that targeted key education stakeholders, with the aim of systematically identifying emerging professional development gaps before the programme is relaunched.

The approach suggests that the relaunched TPD will be shaped by evidence from the field rather than designed only from the top.

Teachers and other stakeholders had a chance to point out where the gaps are, from digital skills and learner assessment under the Competency Based Curriculum to inclusive education and classroom management.

With the government now meeting the cost, the content and quality of the courses will be the next question teachers ask.

A new home for in-service training

TSC’s training mandate has also received a boost from the proposed education laws. The new education bills propose the creation of the Kenya School of Education (KSE), which will offer in-service training to teachers.

Under the proposal, several existing bodies, including the Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA) and the Kenya Education Management Institute (KEMI), will be integrated into KSE.

The idea is to bring scattered training functions under one institution, reduce duplication and give teachers a clearer, more coordinated route for upgrading their skills.

The bills also propose a change of name. TPD would be known as Continuous Professional Development (CPD), bringing the terminology in line with the language used by many professions. The new name emphasises that learning is ongoing, rather than a series of modules to be ticked off.

If the bills are passed as proposed, the government’s funding commitment and the creation of KSE would fit together.

A dedicated national institution offering in-service training, with the State meeting the cost, would mark a significant shift in how teacher development is organised and paid for in Kenya.

Stakeholders brought on board

TSC has been consulting on the programme for months. In April 2026, the Commission held a high-level Stakeholder Engagement Forum at the Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE).

The meeting brought together institutions including the British Council, CEMASTEA and the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), as well as major unions such as the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET).

At the forum, TSC Acting Chief Executive Officer Ms. Evaleen Mitei stressed that TPD is essential for keeping teachers abreast of technological and pedagogical developments.

In a profession where classroom tools, learner expectations and curriculum requirements keep changing, she argued, teachers cannot rely on what they learned in college decades ago.

The participation of the unions was significant. KNUT and KUPPET have been vocal on the cost of TPD, and their presence at the table signalled that the Commission wanted the programme to have the backing of the people it affects most. The President’s decision to fund the courses answers one of their central demands.

More announcements for teachers

TPD was one of several issues the President addressed at Kasarani. He said teachers will receive their long-awaited new Career Progression Guidelines (CPG) in two weeks, after speaking with Salaries and Remuneration Commission chairperson Sammy Chepkwony, who confirmed that the job evaluation exercise is nearing completion. The new CPG will replace the 2018 guidelines, which have been blamed for widespread stagnation.

The President also said the government has employed more than 100,000 teachers since he took office, and that another 20,000 will be recruited by the end of the year, bringing the total to 120,000 by the end of his five-year term.

On promotions, he said TSC promoted 34,016 teachers in one year, the biggest number ever by the Commission, and promised that the figure will rise to 50,000 in the next financial year.

On curriculum reform, he said the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) helped stabilise the Competency Based Education system, including by domiciling Junior School in primary schools, which brought schools closer to home and saved parents and learners the cost of long journeys. He added that more than 200,000 teachers have already undergone capacity building to align them with the new curriculum.

The funding of TPD links these themes together. Training is tied to the CBE reforms, since teachers need new skills to deliver the curriculum. It is tied to promotions, because professional development is part of a teacher’s progression. And it is tied to the CPG, which is expected to define how teachers move up the career ladder.

What teachers will be watching

While the relief is real, teachers and their unions will be looking closely at how the commitment is implemented. Several questions are likely to arise.

The first is whether Ksh 900 million will be enough. With hundreds of thousands of teachers on the payroll, and each module previously costing Ksh 6,000, the demand on the fund will depend on how many teachers enrol in a given year and how the programme is structured.

Teachers will want assurance that the money is disbursed on time and that no one is turned away for lack of funds.

The second is whether teachers who have already paid for modules will be reimbursed or otherwise compensated. Some teachers have already spent their own money to meet the requirement, and they may ask whether the new policy applies to them.

The third is quality. Free training is only valuable if it improves teaching. Teachers will want courses that are relevant, practical and accessible, including for those in remote areas with limited internet connectivity. The Training Needs Assessment and the proposed Kenya School of Education will be central to that.

Finally, there is the legal question. Section 35 of the TSC Act ties teaching to compliance with professional development requirements.

With the State now paying, teachers will expect that no one is penalised for failing to complete a module because of cost, and that any delays in the rollout are not held against them.

A response to teachers’ voices

The President’s message at Kasarani was that the government listened. On TPD, that is a notable shift from a position that left teachers footing the bill for a requirement imposed on them. For the teachers in the stadium, the message was simple: the cost is gone.

If the money flows as promised, the decision will ease the financial pressure on teachers and remove a long-standing grievance.

Combined with the relaunch of the programme, the Training Needs Assessment, the proposed Kenya School of Education and the planned shift to Continuous Professional Development, it could mark the start of a more supportive approach to teacher training.

For now, teachers have a promise and a budget line. The test will be whether the next TPD cycle opens without a fee, and whether the training itself helps them in the classroom.