In a bid to curb teachers shortage in the country, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has announced plans to recruit 5,000 teachers in the 2019/2020 financial year.
The teachers, both for primary and secondary schools will be hired on permanent and pensionable terms.
TSC chief executive officer Dr Nancy Macharia said the commission will additionally employ intern teachers at a cost Sh1.2 billion.
“The recruitment of additional teachers will go a long way in addressing the existing teachers’ shortage as we continue with the implementation of the competency based curriculum (CBC),” said Ms Macharia.
With an annual demand of 12,626 teachers, the commission indicated that the currently employed 317,000 teachers were overstretched.
The education sector this financial year was allocated Sh3.2 billion by the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich.
{ Read: TSC to employ interns to counter shortage of teachers }
The 2019-2023 Strategic Plan by the TSC reported that the commission requires Sh82 billion to recruit teachers over the next five years.
Some Sh16.4 billion will be needed each year for recruitment over the next four years and Sh8.1 billion in the fifth year.
This, it said, would enable it to address a biting teacher shortage in schools, currently estimated at about 100,000, which figure is likely to rise to about 120,000 by 2023 unless the number and pace of teacher recruitment is increased.
Staff shortage worsened this year with the government’s push for 100 percent transition of learners from primary to secondary levels.
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