TSC To Hire 72,422 Teachers From The These Categories To Address JSS Shortage In 2025 .
TSC To Hire 72,422 Teachers From The These Categories To Address JSS Shortage In 2025 . TSC Faces 72,422 Teacher Shortage in Junior Secondary Schools
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is grappling with a critical shortage of 72,422 teachers needed for Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) in Kenya, as revealed by TSC CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia. To effectively handle the learning needs of Grades 7, 8, and 9, a total of 149,350 teachers are required. However, only 76,928 teachers—51.5% of the target—are currently employed.
Among the existing JSS workforce are 39,550 teachers recruited on internship terms, 8,378 primary school (P1) teachers deployed to JSS, and 9,000 permanent and pensionable JSS teachers. To address the deficit, the government has allocated funds to convert the 39,550 intern teachers to permanent terms starting January 2025. Additionally, Ksh 4.8 billion was provided to hire 20,000 more JSS teachers on internships.
Dr. Macharia highlighted that the recruitment prioritized science teachers to alleviate subject-specific shortages. Meanwhile, TSC has been actively retooling educators under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), re-skilling 229,292 teachers since 2019, including 60,642 JSS teachers from May 2023 to November 2024.
The teacher-to-class ratio currently stands at 1:1, prompting TSC to deploy more primary-trained teachers (PTE) and excess secondary school teachers to JSS in 2025. Deployment will prioritize subject combinations and proximity to current workstations. However, strict criteria for P1 teacher deployment include a minimum KCSE mean grade of C+ and a C+ in two teaching subjects.
With no Form One classes in secondary schools due to the CBC transition, thousands of high school teachers are expected to be reassigned. This strategic redeployment aims to prevent a looming teacher crisis and ensure efficient delivery of education under the CBC system.
