Government Announces Recruitment Of Intern Teachers To Support CBE

The government has announced that 16,000 additional junior school intern teachers will be recruited in 2026 to support the Competency-Based Education (CBE) curriculum, which is being rolled out across the country.

The new recruitment drive is expected to take place after the July 2026 national budget is read and approved. Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Julius Ogamba revealed the plan during a live interview on Citizen TV’s Elimu Mashinani segment held in Kilifi on September 23, 2025.

According to the CS, the employment of more teachers is intended to ease the staffing crisis that has gripped junior secondary schools, particularly in Grades 7, 8, and 9, since the inception of the CBE system.

Ogamba noted that the government has already made major strides in expanding the teaching workforce, having recruited 76,000 teachers over the past year. By January 2026, he said, this number will rise to 100,000, marking one of the largest expansions of the teaching sector in the country’s history.

However, he cautioned that uncertainty remains over the confirmation of teachers currently serving on internship contracts. Many of these junior school teachers had anticipated automatic conversion to permanent and pensionable (PNP) status after their one-year internship.

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The CS clarified that confirmation would only happen after teachers serve between one and two years on contract, depending on government policy and available resources.

At the same time, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is finalizing the ongoing recruitment of 24,000 junior school intern teachers who will serve on one-year contracts. Interviews and document verification sessions for shortlisted applicants were conducted this week to confirm authenticity and eligibility.

Interest in the program has been overwhelming, with approximately 190,000 unemployed teachers submitting applications after the recruitment portal was activated on August 24, 2025. The application window closed on September 9. The selected teachers will begin their internship contracts on January 1, 2026, running through to December 31, 2026.

According to the TSC recruitment guidelines, priority will be given to teachers with qualifications in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, followed by those in technical disciplines, and finally, language teachers. The commission has made it clear that the shortage of science teachers in the country is dire and must be urgently addressed.

In the new scoring system, candidates with one technical or creative arts subject such as Home Science, Computer Studies, Business Studies, Music, Drawing and Design, Art and Design, Woodwork, Electricity, Aviation Technology, Electronics, Building and Construction, Metalwork, Power Mechanics, or Physical Education are awarded 40 marks.

Language teachers with a combination of one language subject, such as French, English, Kiswahili, German, Arabic, or Mandarin, and another teaching subject will earn 25 marks.

However, teachers specializing in arts-based subjects like History, CRE, Geography, IRE, HRE, or Life Skills have been awarded only 5 marks, a move that has sparked uproar among unemployed teachers. Many of them argue that the scoresheet is discriminatory and unfairly sidelines arts teachers, who make up the majority of graduates in the teaching profession.

The commission has previously explained that its recruitment policies are guided by the country’s educational needs. Former TSC Chief Executive Officer Dr. Nancy Macharia, while appearing before the National Assembly’s Education Committee, emphasized that the shortage of science teachers is a critical issue that must be prioritized.

“Even though we have over 400,000 unemployed teachers across the country, science teachers remain extremely hard to find. Most applicants have qualifications in the arts, but our schools are understaffed when it comes to Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and other science subjects,” Dr. Macharia stated.

She further noted that applications for science positions are usually very low, leaving many schools in dire need of specialized teachers to effectively deliver on the CBE curriculum. “When we advertise for positions in Physics, for example, the response is minimal compared to arts subjects. This has forced us to rethink our recruitment strategy,” she added.

Her remarks mirror the trend observed in previous recruitment exercises. During the November 2024 intake, when the TSC recruited 20,000 junior secondary school intern teachers, candidates with science and technical subject combinations were given preference. Teachers specializing in arts-based combinations had much lower chances of securing internship opportunities.

This latest development, therefore, comes as a blow to many unemployed teachers with arts subject combinations who had hoped for fairer consideration in the ongoing recruitment process.

While the government remains committed to expanding employment opportunities in the education sector, the policy direction clearly favors science and technical expertise as part of efforts to align teaching with national development goals.

CS Ogamba nonetheless reassured the teaching fraternity that more opportunities are coming. With the planned recruitment of 16,000 intern teachers in 2026, alongside the already ongoing 24,000 slots, the government aims to gradually absorb more teachers and distribute them equitably across counties, ensuring that every learner under the CBE system has access to qualified instructors.

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