President William Ruto has announced that the government will recruit an additional 20,000 teachers by December 2026, bringing the number of teachers 

President William Ruto has announced that the government will recruit an additional 20,000 teachers by December 2026, bringing the number of teachers hired under his administration to 120,000.

President William Ruto has announced that the government will recruit an additional 20,000 teachers by December 2026, bringing the number of teachers hired under his administration to 120,000.

Speaking during World Teachers’ Day celebrations at Kasarani in Nairobi on Monday, Ruto said the additional recruitment would help address the teacher shortage affecting schools across the country.

“In the past four years, as has been said here by all the speakers, we have recruited 100,000 teachers so far, and another 20,000 will be recruited before the end of this year. By December, we will have recruited 120,000 teachers, the largest expansion of the teaching force in our nation in five years,” Ruto said.

The President said the government was also working to improve teachers’ employment terms, career progression and welfare.

According to Ruto, the teacher shortage stood at 116,000 when his administration took office in 2022.

20,000 contract teachers to be converted to permanent terms

Ruto also announced that the government had allocated KSh4.9 billion to facilitate the conversion of 20,000 contract teachers who have served for two years to permanent and pensionable terms from January 2027.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has also advertised 34,016 promotion opportunities for teachers.

Ruto called on the commission to increase the number of promotion opportunities to 50,000, saying the government would provide additional resources to support the move.

“I want to encourage the Teachers Service Commission to enhance these 34,000 promotions to 50,000. The government of Kenya will make additional resources available for that promotion,” he said.

Teachers set to receive retirement benefits faster

The President also announced plans to reduce the time taken to process teachers’ retirement benefits.

He said agencies responsible for retirement payments had assured him that teachers would be able to receive their retirement benefits within 10 days of leaving service once the new system is fully operational.

“The agencies responsible have assured me that within the next three months, we will be able to pay a teacher’s retirement benefit within ten days of their retirement,” Ruto said.

The government is using the Pension Management Information System to improve the processing of teachers’ retirement records and reduce delays.

The system was rolled out by the TSC and National Treasury to facilitate the uploading and management of teachers’ records as part of efforts to speed up retirement benefit processing.

Government expands support for Competency-Based Education

Ruto also outlined measures being implemented to support the transition to Competency-Based Education (CBE).

He said the pioneer CBE cohort had progressed to senior school, while more than 220,000 teachers had undergone retooling to prepare them for the new system.

The government has allocated KSh952 million for additional teacher capacity development, according to Ruto.

He also said more than 23,000 classrooms had been constructed and that an additional 1,600 laboratories were being equipped to support science learning and the new senior school pathways.

The Teachers Service Commission has separately reported that more than 220,000 teachers have undergone retooling as the education system transitions to CBE.

Education funding increases

Ruto said government spending on education had increased from KSh526 billion in 2022 to KSh784.5 billion in the current financial year.

He also said funding for higher education had risen from KSh44 billion in 2022 to KSh82 billion last year.

The President further pointed to the proposed Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill 2026, saying the government intends to establish a framework under which students admitted to universities, technical colleges and Kenya Medical Training College institutions can access government funding.

Teacher promotions and career progression

Ruto said the government had doubled the teacher promotion budget from KSh1 billion to KSh2 billion.

He added that the TSC and teachers’ unions had completed consultations on new career progression guidelines, which are awaiting consideration by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

The proposed changes come amid calls for clearer and more equitable career advancement opportunities for teachers.

The TSC has said its review of career progression guidelines is intended to give teachers clearer opportunities to advance without necessarily moving into administrative positions.

Teachers' medical cover expanded

On healthcare, Ruto said teachers’ inpatient access rate had increased from 7 per cent to 14 per cent, bringing it to the same level as other public servants.

He said the teachers’ medical scheme under the Social Health Authority had provided services to more than 680,000 teachers and their dependants between December 2025 and September 2026.

According to the President, beneficiaries had accessed outpatient, inpatient, optical, dental and imaging services.

He added that teachers could now access inpatient services through 3,871 facilities operated by national and county governments, faith-based organisations and private providers, compared with about 900 facilities previously.

The President said the measures were part of broader efforts to strengthen teachers’ welfare while expanding Kenya’s teaching workforce and supporting the ongoing transformation of the education system.