The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has raised alarm over a critical teacher shortage in senior schools, stating that 25,839 teachers are urgently needed to support the rollout of Grade 10 under the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) in 2026.
Revelation Made in Parliament
Appearing before the National Assembly Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee on 8th April 2025, TSC CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia disclosed that the teacher shortage in junior and senior secondary schools currently stands at 98,261.
She noted that for full CBC implementation across Grades 7, 8, and 9, TSC requires a total of 149,350 teachers, yet only 76,928 teachers have so far been deployed to Junior Secondary Schools (JSS), representing 51.5% of the required workforce.
Breakdown of Current Teacher Staffing in JSS:
- 39,550 teachers initially hired as interns, confirmed to permanent terms in January 2025
- 8,378 P1 teachers deployed to JSS in 2023 and 2024
- 9,000 teachers hired on permanent and pensionable terms
- 20,000 teachers hired in January 2025 on one-year internship contracts, funded by a Ksh 4.8 billion budget
2025 Recruitment Plans
TSC has received an allocation to recruit 36,000 more teachers this year:
- 18,000 on permanent and pensionable terms
- 18,000 on internship contracts
These teachers will be distributed between junior and senior secondary schools to ease the acute staffing gaps.
TSC’s Retooling Efforts
Since April 2019, TSC has retooled 229,292 teachers on the CBC and Competency-Based Assessment (CBA) approaches.
Between May 2023 and November 2024, a total of 60,642 JSS teachers received retooling in preparation for CBC instruction.
Additionally, the Commission has announced plans to retool 7,000 secondary school Principals to support the successful rollout of Grade 10.
Teacher-to-Class Ratio Crisis
Dr. Macharia emphasized the urgent need for recruitment, as the current teacher-to-class ratio in JSS stands at 1:1, which is unsustainable for effective learning delivery.
With the first CBC cohort moving into Grade 10 in 2026, the pressure is mounting for TSC to ensure adequate staffing, proper training, and smooth implementation across all secondary school levels.
