Junior Secondary Schools across the country are facing an acute shortage of 72,000 teachers, a crisis exacerbated by the growing rejection of internship offers by qualified teachers, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has revealed.
Appearing before the Senate Education Committee during a consultative meeting in Mombasa on Friday, TSC acting Chief Executive Officer Eveleen Mitei said the Junior School sector is “severely starved” of personnel, despite previous recruitment efforts.
“To bridge the gap, we plan to recruit 24,000 intern teachers by January 2026,” he said.
Currently, 83,129 teachers are handling millions of learners in Grades 7, 8 and 9. Since the 2022/2023 financial year, the government has recruited over 56,000 teachers on permanent and pensionable terms, and 20,000 as interns.
However, Ms Mitei told the committee that the TSC is facing challenges in recruiting teachers to teach in public schools, especially in North Eastern region.
She admitted that the TSC is struggling to attract applicants in some areas due to the stipends. Interns receive a gross stipend of about Sh20,000, which drops to Sh18,070 after statutory deductions, including the Social Health Authority and Housing Levy.
“In undertaking recruitment of teachers in public schools, TSC has encountered challenges including lack of expression of interest on advertised posts in North Eastern. Further, lack of teachers in the specific learning areas or subjects across the country such as Music, Art and Design may cause lack of applicants,” said Ms Mitei.
She said Junior Schools currently operate at only 50 percent of their required staffing levels, even though the Commission has so far deployed 83,129 teachers.
To bridge the gap, the government allocated Sh2 billion to hire 24,000 interns by January 2026, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) areas.
“We’ve faced challenges particularly in STEM subjects. But we believe the January recruitment will move us closer to our targets,” the CEO added.
James Odhiambo, the chairperson of the Kenya Association of Junior School Teachers (KAJST), and a former intern, criticised the prolonged internship programme.
“It is inhumane for the state to keep graduate teachers in internship for years… One year of teaching practice is enough. We are trained, qualified professionals not trainees,” he said.
Mr Odhiambo urged the TSC to scrap internship recruitment and instead hire teachers on permanent and pensionable terms.
He believes that the internship model is being misused as a stopgap to plug staffing gaps without offering teachers decent terms.
Mr Odhiambo, , who graduated in 2017 from Kibabii University with a Bachelor’s in Arts Education and currently teaches History and CRE in a Junior School in Kwale, said the meagre stipend offered to interns is not commensurate with their responsibilities.
He was recruited in February 2023 after serving for seven years as a Board of Management (BoM) teacher.
“Interns do the same work as permanent and pensionable teachers but earn far less. There’s no health cover, no housing or commuter allowances only a stipend of Sh18,070 after deductions,” said Mr Odhiambo.
He said most teachers reject the internship roles due to poor pay, heavy workloads and the financial strain they bring, especially for those with families. Despite the unattractive terms, Mr Odhiambo said he took up the role out of desperation.
“I couldn’t turn it down because working under BoM was unstable. Your job depends on the head teacher’s mood,” he said, adding that some BoM positions paid better—up to Sh25,000—but lacked job security.
Education stakeholders have criticised the TSC for continuing to recruit intern teachers despite a court ruling declaring the internship programme illegal.
Mr Odhiambo reminded the TSC that the Labour and Industrial Relations Court had already declared the internship model unlawful.
Senate Education Committee Chairperson Betty Montet said the ongoing retreat in Mombasa aims to find sustainable solutions for education challenges in counties, including teacher recruitment, staffing policies, and transfers.
“Junior School staffing is a big issue. The retreat has allowed us to deliberate on these concerns with the urgency they deserve,” said Senator Montet.
