Additional number of tutors required next year projected at 9,845

The recruitment of 3,786 new teachers is underway, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has announced on its website.

In a letter to the National Treasury seen by The Standard, TSC has requested the Government to provide Sh15.85 billion per year for the recruitment of 24,027 teachers annually for five years starting next year.

TSC announced 3,786 new vacancies for teachers to replace those who have left the service through natural attrition from July 1 to August 31, 2017.

Available posts include 3,258 primary school teachers and 528 for post-primary schools/institutions.

Interested candidates should apply to the Secretary, Board of Management of the institution where the vacancy is advertised and submit a copy to the TSC county director. Details of schools with the vacancies are available on the official TSC website.

“All interested candidates should submit their applications to the respective county directors and boards of management as above not later than Wednesday, October 25, 2017,” said TSC Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia in a statement.

Ms Macharia warned that the commission would only deal with TSC sounty selection panels and management boards. Individual applications to the commission will not be considered and employment forms filled in more than one station will lead to disqualification.

The candidates are required to be Kenyan citizens, must be 45 years of age and below, have original professional and academic certificates and be registered as a teacher according to Section 23 of the Teachers Service Commission Act 2012.

Applicants for primary school vacancies must be holders of a P1 certificate and will be selected from the county merit lists compiled during the June 2017 recruitment.

Applicants for vacancies in post-primary institutions must have at least a diploma in education.

“Successful candidates will be deployed to serve in station in any part of the country, not necessarily in the county where they were recruited.”

The recruitment will help reduce a shortage that is set to rise significantly as the Government implements free secondary school education and a policy on 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary school in 2018.

The total additional number of teachers required next year is projected at 9,845. This number is expected to grow to 63,130 in 2022, according to a TSC letter to Treasury in which the commission sets out the plan for recruitment and deployment of additional teachers.

ANNUAL AVERAGE

This translates to an annual average teacher requirement of 12,626, according to projections on teacher requirements based on expected impact of the policy on 100 per cent transition of learners from primary to secondary school in the next five years (2018-2022).

The 63,130 teachers required for the 100 per cent transition add to the existing teacher shortage at secondary school level of 57,005.

The document says this could also be spread at an average of 11,401 teachers recruited annually for the five years. This implies a total teacher requirement of 24,027 annually.

According to the letter, TSC will require Sh15,859,261,620 annually to recruit the additional teachers over the five years.

The amount is divided into Sh8,333,917,560 billion annually to recruit 12,626 teachers for the 100 per cent transition and Sh7,525,344,060 to recruit 11,401 teachers to address the existing shortage.

The financial projection is based on a monthly gross salary of Sh55,005.

In total, TSC is faced with a teacher shortage of 101,430-43,177 at primary school level, 57,005 at secondary school level and 1,248 at tertiary level.

The shortage is attributed to the rapid growth in school enrolment arising from Government policies aimed at improving access to basic education and training.

The number of secondary schools increased from 6,310 to 8,592 from 2012 to 2017 respectively. Similarly, enrolment increased from 1,765,531 in 2012 to 2,704,030 in 2017.

"It is worth noting that despite the Government initiative of recruiting an additional 5,000 teachers annually for the last five years, this provision has not matched the increase in enrolment and rapid expansion of learning institutions," read the TSC document.