Kenya Has an Acute Shortage of Teachers – TSC Report Shows

Nairobi is leading among counties with more primary and secondary school teachers as revealed by the Teachers Service Commission.

The Teachers Service Commission data shows that Taita Taveta, Laikipia, Isiolo, and Embu have more primary school teachers than needed, while Marsabit, Lamu, and Isiolo have more secondary school teachers.

According to Nairobi’s Curriculum-Based Establishment (CBE), which is used to determine the deployment of teachers to public schools, Nairobi’s CBE is 4045, while tutors on active duty are 4105, making it 60 extra teachers who could be deployed to more deserving regions

In Taita Taveta, only 2151 primary school teachers are required but there are 58 extra teachers on duty. Laikipia has 51 extra primary school teachers while Isiolo was found to have 43 excess teachers. Embu, has 3981 teachers against the required 3965, giving it 16 more teachers.

In Marsabit, Lamu and Isiolo there are an extra 97,48 and 36 secondary school teachers respectively.

And while there are more teachers than required in the above-mentioned counties, there are other counties that suffer a shortage in the number of teachers.

Kakamega, Kitui, Bungoma, Narok and West Pokot counties have a huge shortage of primary school teachers. Kakamega is the highest with a gap of 3070 teachers. Kakamega’s CBE is at 13626 but only 10556 tutors are on duty.

Kitui lacks a total of 2514 teachers as only 9838 are on duty when 12352 are required. Bungoma, Narok and West Pokot have a shortage of 2416,2238 and 2158 teachers respectively.

Kakamega County is leading among counties that are understaffed with both primary and secondary school teachers. Kakamega’s CBE is at 8305, 4967 teachers only are on duty, leaving the county with a gap of 3338.

Bungoma, Migori, Kisii and Homabay counties closely follow with a shortage of 2770, 2484, 2472 and 2276 secondary school teachers respectively.

Many teachers are reported to refuse deployment in arid, semi-arid areas and rural areas as they prefer teaching in schools located in towns.

This has been found to be the main reason pupils to teachers ratio in such regions is affected, according to a report by Uwezo.

“All counties are faced with unique challenges ranging from cultural factors, an inadequate number of schools to severe drought. But still, deliberate efforts must be made to rationalize the number of teachers,” Uwezo Country Manager Mr.Emmanuel Manyasa said.

Uwezo report proposes that the TSC allocates teachers on the basis of enrollment and the curriculum being offered in a school.

Also, in a bid to promote national cohesion, the report finds that deploying teachers away from their homes to new counties or regions would be the best method to achieve that.