Government Announces Recruitment of 24,000 New Teachers In Major Education Boost

President William Ruto has announced a major recruitment drive in the education sector, revealing that the government will hire an additional 24,000 teachers in a move aimed at addressing staffing shortages and improving the quality of education in public schools.

Speaking on Tuesday, June 23, after assenting to the Finance Bill 2026 at State House, Nairobi, President Ruto said the new recruitment forms part of his administration’s efforts to strengthen the education sector and ensure that schools have adequate teaching personnel.

According to the Head of State, the recruitment will help bridge existing staffing gaps while improving the teacher-to-student ratio, particularly in areas that have been experiencing acute shortages.

The President also announced that 20,000 teachers currently serving under internship and contract arrangements will be absorbed into permanent and pensionable terms, fulfilling a pledge made by his administration to provide teachers with secure employment and better working conditions.

“To honour our commitment to teachers on contract terms, 20,000 teachers will transition to permanent and pensionable terms as has been provided in the budget,” President Ruto said.

“In addition, we will recruit a further 24,000 teachers, bringing the total number of teachers hired by this administration to 124,000 teachers,” he added.

The latest recruitment drive means that since taking office in September 2022, the Kenya Kwanza administration will have employed approximately 124,000 teachers, making it one of the largest teacher hiring programmes in recent years.

The announcement comes after the government allocated Ksh783 billion to the Ministry of Education in the 2026/27 financial year, underscoring the administration’s commitment to investing in education and supporting the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).

The confirmation of 20,000 teachers to permanent and pensionable terms follows previous directives issued by President Ruto regarding the employment of intern teachers. During the National Education Conference held in Naivasha on May 7, the President reiterated that internship should not exceed two years, insisting that teachers who complete the period should automatically be absorbed into permanent employment by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).

Ruto noted that over 44,000 teachers had initially been recruited on internship terms with a clear understanding that after serving for two years, they would transition to permanent and pensionable positions.

“I hope there are no teachers who have served more than two years as interns because that is not what I bargained for. Every teacher can only serve for two years on contract after which they transition to permanent and pensionable terms,” the President stated.

His remarks came amid growing concerns over the welfare of intern teachers, some of whom had staged protests that disrupted learning activities in several schools for nearly two weeks while demanding confirmation into permanent employment.

The demonstrations drew attention to long-standing concerns over delayed confirmations and the uncertainty surrounding the future of thousands of intern teachers who had been pushing for better terms of service.

Meanwhile, teachers are also set to benefit from new reforms aimed at easing career progression and addressing delays in promotions.

Recently, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that seeks to streamline teacher promotions under a revised Career Progression Guideline.

The agreement, signed on Friday, is anchored on the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) reached between the two parties in July last year and is expected to eliminate bottlenecks that have slowed promotions for thousands of teachers.

Education stakeholders have welcomed the latest developments, saying the recruitment of new teachers, absorption of interns, and reforms in promotions will go a long way in addressing challenges facing the sector, improving teacher morale, and enhancing the quality of learning in public schools.

With the latest measures, the government hopes to boost the capacity of schools, ensure equitable distribution of teachers across the country, and strengthen the delivery of education as demand for learning continues to rise.

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