State to hire 20,000 teachers

Basic Education PS Belio Kipsang. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

The government is set to recruit 20,000 teachers to address shortage in schools, Basic Education PS Belio Kipsang has said.  

Another 16,000 additional classrooms will also be constructed this year to address challenges affecting the implementation of Junior Secondary Schools (JSS).   

Dr Kipsang said the teachers will be employed to reduce the shortage in basic education institutions. 

A shortage of teachers has been a serious impediment to the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum, especially in JSS. 

Teachers complain of handling four or more subjects yet they were trained to teach only two subjects in secondary schools. 

In some schools, the first lot of JSS students took more than one month without proper teaching.  

But Kipsang said the government has put strategies in place to overcome the challenge.

Kipsang spoke during the education day at Rang’i primary and a visit to Orero Boys in Rangwe sub-county, Homa Bay County. 

Kipsang who was accompanied by PSs Raymond Omollo (Interior) and Ann Wang’ombe (Gender), and KCID Director Prof Charles Ong’odo said the teachers will be employed in July this year. 

Relieve BoMs

Kipasang said the new teachers will improve the environment for learners to acquire education. 

“I assure you that the government will recruit 20,000 more teachers in July. This will go a long way in ensuring we have enough teachers in our schools,”  Kipsang said. 

He said the recruitment will also relieve the school boards of management of hiring teachers. 

“Some schools have a serious teacher shortage in which 50 per cent of teachers are employed by BOM. The government is putting measures in place to address the issue,” Kipsang said. 

Dr Omollo who was the chief guest said his ministry is working with the Ministry of Education to create a conducive atmosphere for learning in schools.  

He noted that the main challenge impeding education in many schools is insecurity.  

“One of the issues we are grappling with in schools is insecurity. We are putting various measures to address the issue. For instance, we are going to put up a police post in this area between Kisii and Homa Bay counties to address insecurity,” Omollo said.