President William Ruto has said the government will allocate Sh19.7 billion to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to recruit more teachers.

Speaking during the Taxpayers Day celebrations in Mombasa, yesterday, Ruto announced that the funds will be made available under the supplementary budget currently awaiting approval by the National Assembly.

Under the supplementary budget, the education sector is poised to get Sh62 billion.

“Our budget to TSC has increased by Sh20 billion because we are hiring additional teachers. Some 56,000 additional teachers are on our payroll this year,” Ruto said.

Read also:

Tree Planting Holiday Will Not Affect KCSE Exams

Police Arrest Six Telegram Admins Over Exam Sales

KNEC CEO Says There Has Never Been Leakage, Even as Exam Cartels Change Tact

This is Why Machogu Banned School KUCCPS Application

This is How First Years Will Receive Their HELB Loans Next Week, Machogu

Past KPSEA, KCPE and KCSE Papers

Over the past year, the Kenya Kwanza administration has made commendable strides in tackling the teachers shortage, having employed 35,790 new teachers.

Notably, 1,000 of these were recruited on permanent and pensionable terms for primary schools while 3,986 interns joined the primary school system.

Moreover, an impressive 9,000 teachers were hired on permanent and pensionable terms for junior secondary schools, and an additional 21,365 were recruited as intern teachers for junior schools. The recruitment drive is a departure from the previous administration’s approach, which hired approximately 5,000 teachers annually.

In July President Ruto said: “For the first time, the government has employed 35,000 teachers this year, a number unprecedented in recent history. By August, we aim to recruit an additional 25,000 teachers, ensuring that every child in Kenya has access to quality education.”

In the current financial year, the education sector received an allocation of Sh628.6 billion and will get an additional Sh62 billion under the supplementary budget.

“If you compare last year. The education budget last year was Sh545 billion to Sh690 billion. This year the budget, factored in with the current supplementary budget, that is Sh145 billion additional money for our education. This is deliberate, because we believe every child in Kenya should have a chance at life by making sure that they have access to education,” said the Head of State.

The supplementary budget also caters to the State Department for Higher Education and Research, which will receive an extra Sh29.3 billion, bringing the total budget to Sh157.9 billion, with a focus on scholarships under the new funding model.

Ruto said the investment is vital for developing an improved human capital. “We are increasing the money going to our universities by a whole Sh48 billion. So what I see on the horizon is an improved human capital,” he said.

The university education sub-sector is likely to get a reduction in budgetary allocation by Sh1.9 billion.

According to 2022/2023 supplementary budget estimates, four out of five departments in the Ministry of Education will receive budget cuts.

This is apart from the early learning and basic education with an increase of Sh17.6 billion and Teachers Service Commission with Sh6.4 billion.

  “Rationalization of allocation to capital projects in various public universities,” the report reads.

The ministry will have an enhanced budget of Sh19.6 billion up from Sh544bn allocated in 2022.

Read also:

Ministry of Education Justifies ECDE Teachers’ Quest For Salary Increment

ECDE Teachers’ New Salaries and Allowances Per County 

New salaries, allowances to benefit 90,000 ECDE teachers

This is Why Junior Secondary Schools are Congested

Government Avails Steps Aiming to Stabilize JSS By 2025

KICD: CBC Does Not Overwork Learners

Heads on The Spot For charging JSS Admission fees

List of Teachers Set to Earn their Pension

Taskforce Proposes Ban of School Fees

The increased budget will cater for Junior secondary learners’ capitation and recruitment of teachers.

Schools will receive Sh15,000 capitation for every Grade 7 student.

“Provision of funds for recruitment of teaching resources in public primary and secondary schools,” the report reads.

The reduction in budget comes even as varsities grapple with accumulated debts hitting more than Sh50 billion.

According to the Universities Fund, public universities have accumulated debts hitting Sh56.1 billion as of June 2022.

The universities owe contractors Sh1.4 billion, part-time lecturers Sh4.5 billion, suppliers Sh4.8 billion, and Sacco contributions Sh4.1 billion.

NSSF is owed Sh139 million, at NHIF there are Sh2 million loan deductions worth Sh1.3bn, pension schemes Sh18 billion and PAYE is owed Sh13 billion, while other loans have accumulated Sh10 billion.

Teachers’ unions KNUT and KUPPET are working secretly behind the scenes to ensure an increment in salary for their members.

The reports in our custody reveal that Both Knut and Kuppet national officials have held several meetings casually with top TSC officials. Mostly the agenda in those meetings are issues aimed at giving room for at least a slight salary review.

Even though teachers have missed out on pay rise through the national budget, a section of union officials from both unions have cited a possibility of a supplementary budget as a sure way of making teachers get higher perks.

Supplementary Budget is usually done when the government Ministries and state Departments request for additional funds from the treasury in the course of the year.

Important Posts:

KUPPET, KNUT Submit Fresh Salary/ CBA Demands To TSC

KUPPET’S Overtime Allowance Proposal in 2021-2025 CBA Per Job Group

Leaked: KUPPET’S Risk Allowance Proposal Per Job Group

TSC’s CBA Salary Banding Favours Selected Teachers In New Salary Adjustments

Reviewed: Teachers’ basic Salaries and All allowances as per 2021-2025 CBA

KUCCPS Opens Portal For 2021 KCSE Candidates Qualified For Degree, Diploma and TTC Applications-Apply Here

How to Apply for TTC Diploma in Teacher Education or Early Childhood Education Through KUCCPS

KUCCPS Courses-Universities, Course Information, Clusters and Minimum qualifications Per course

How to Apply for Degree, Diploma and TTC Courses Through KUCCPS

KUCCPS Admission to TTCs is on

KUCCPS: C+ Students Prior to 2016 Can Apply For Placement

Teachers missed out on national budget since TSC and teachers’ unions failed to strike an agreement aimed at reviewing the non-monetary CBA they signed in July last 2021 early enough to factor a salary component.

According to Sources close to TSC, the Commission is more determined to solve the biting teacher shortage in the country rather that investing resources on salaries.

Even though the Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani allocated an additional ksh 143b to TSC this year, the latter has refuted claims that the money will be used to award salary increment to teachers.

In its report to the parliament, TSC confirmed that the additional allocated funds will be used to employ additional teachers.

In the budget, the commission had an allocation of ksh 2.5 billion for employing 5,000 teachers on permanent terms and another ksh 1.2 billion for employing 6,000 others on internship.

The talks between the Commission and the teachers’ unions, knut and kuppet concerning the review of CBA 2021-2025, which created new hopes for teachers’ salary changes collapsed.

Should the ongoing secret talks between TSC and teachers’ unions bear fruits, teachers will get additional salaries through a supplementary budget.