The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) says it requires Sh17 billion to recruit more than 12,000 tutors ahead of the January 4 school reopening .
TSC chief executive Nancy Macharia said the 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary school policy created a further shortage of 26,804 instructors.
Because the government has insisted on social distancing in the war on the Covid-19 pandemic, schools will face an acute shortage of teachers, she added.
Learners are expected to be in small groups, meaning what used to be a single class may need two or three extra streams.
A classroom in a public school has an average of 40 children, with some with as many as 60. Such a class is managed by one teacher.
With the Ministry of Education insisting on a class of 25, the teacher’s workload will definitely be higher.
Ms Macharia said the commission’s plan is to hire 12,626 teachers every year to address problems associated with the 100 per cent transition policy.
TSC has only employed 23,700 teachers since 2017, against a target of 50,504.
The commission’s target has not been met due to inadequate budgetary provisions,” she said.
TSC says it was given Sh2.5 billion to hire 5,000 teachers this financial year.
The commission was allocated Sh2.5 billion under the Economic Stimulus Programme, to engage 12,000 interns, she said.
TSC chairperson Lydia Nzomo, whose six-year term came ended on Wednesday, said before the 100 per cent transition policy, post-primary teacher shortage stood at 61,671.
From the 2017/18 to the 2019/20 financial years, the government recruited 18,700 teachers. Shortage in secondary schools shot up to 80,849.
‘The shortage in primary school during the same period has decreased slightly from 40,807 to 36,777 in 2020,” she said.
Before the 100 per cent transition policy, the commission used to recruit and post a majority of teachers to primary school.
Ms Macharia said TSC would need Sh1 billion more to prepare teachers for the reopening through training, sensitisation and induction programmes. She added that the commission has already launched teacher induction mentorship and coaching programmes.
She said 45,703 teachers have been trained in the programme.
Some 327 teachers have been trained on management and integrity for field staff, a total of 12,317 trained on teacher discipline in 12 counties while 2,699 have been part of induction, mentorship and coaching programmes.
Some 30,360, who are among the newly recruited teachers and administrators, have also been trained.
“The commission requires Sh60 million to implement this programme,” Ms Macharia said.
