Nairobi — The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will promote 36,000 teachers in this financial year as the government seeks to address shortages in schools.

It's CEO, Nancy Macharia, also announced plans to hire 20,000 educators in the next financial year.

Speaking in Eldoret, ahead of the release of the KCSE results, she noted that the additional one class in junior secondary has created a staffing shortage of 42,117.

"The additional one class in 2024, grade 8 in the junior school has created a staffing shortage of 42,117 at this level ideally the number of teachers required in unit school this year is 99,045 against the current number of 56, 928," she said.

The CEO has noted that the government has progressively funded the commission for the recruitment of additional teachers until the optimum levels are achieved.

"The commission in recognition of the good work that our teachers do, has been funded and is in the process of promoting 36505 teachers," she said.

"The government is progressively funding the TSC for the recruitment of additional teachers until optimum levels are achieved. In the next financial year, the TSC has requested funds for an additional twenty thousand teachers," she added.

The CEO has, however, noted that the teacher requirement for primary schools has reduced due to the reduction of classes, consequently leading to an excess of 18,194 teachers.

She has affirmed that the commission will redistribute the teachers to ensure that all the institutions have a balanced teacher-to-student ratio.

By Ken Muthomi