Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world, renowned South Africa nationalist Nelson Mandela once stated.
Then Jeff Rich remarked: If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.
The April 9, 2025, Standard story, “Looming crisis as TSC facing a shortage of 98,281 teachers,” should have the media actively following up the Treasury and Ministry of Education regarding status of Kenya’s education funding.
This follows fears that the education sector could be headed to a catastrophe, after the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) revealed it was faced by a biting shortage of 98,281 teachers due to funding shortage.
In the April meeting with MPs in the National Assembly Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee, TSC Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia consequently inhibiting the children’s right to access basic quality education as enshrined under article 43 of the constitution.
The Standard in a story titled, “Unemployed 350,000 teachers to compete for 28,000 vacancies,” published on December 30, 2024, quoted Ms Macharia as saying, the required number of teachers for grades 7 to 9 was 149,350.
However, only 76,928 teachers have been recruited, representing 51.5 per cent, and remaining a shortage of 72,422 teachers or 48.5 per cent.
A teacher makes a difference in every child’s development, contributing to the gradual transformation of a civil world.
Further, the MPs heard the shortage had led to teaching gaps in the new learning areas introduced under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), in media technology, woodwork, jewelry and ornament making, sculpture, leather craft, marine and fisheries technology, general science, and indigenous languages.
In introducing the CBC, Kenya intended to empower the current generation of learners with knowledge and skills suited for their talents and capabilities. The new education system, which replaced the 8-4-4 one, had intellectuals saying, the country was placing the cart before the horse, fearing policy, funding and inadequate teacher capacity would derail the system’s threshold kick-off.
This prompted the setting of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms to look into the issues raised, upon whose recommendations, the government pledged the recruitment of additional 30,000 teachers by January 2023, to facilitate the transition.
Retooling teachers was counted as a priority to achieve the objectives of the new curriculum. Government had promised that the Ministry of Education, Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development and the TSC would work on modalities of fast-tracking retooling teachers for sufficient numbers’ compliance with CBC.
Journalists need to investigate if this has been implemented across all counties. If yes, to what percentage? If not, the reasons or hiccups?
During public participation, the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) comprising of private and public secondary schools, had proposed to the presidential working team, to retrain primary school teachers to handle junior secondary grade 9, instead of making secondary teachers train for two years to adjust to content formally below them.
Further, the association suggested that primary school teachers be re-trained for one year to adjust to junior grade 7 and 8, instead of spending resources retraining secondary teachers for two years.
Besides retooling of teachers for junior and senior secondary, Kenya education is grappling with reforms in basic and higher education funding that needs water-tight policy to streamline.
Media should keep an eye on these critical gaps, and see that the current leadership, itself a beneficiary of teachers resourcefulness, has delivered for other generations to gain maximally from education.
Teachers’ promotion for example can have an effect on their motivation to work. Ms Macharia stated the promotions were tied to the National Treasury allocation of Sh1 billion, which she pleaded be increased to have more teachers promoted.
Besides basic education, higher education including university has been dogged by funding issues which if not resolved could see thousands of talented students unable to acquire higher learning. This should be addressed comprehensively by the Ministry of Education alongside building the capacity in basic and high education, colleges, universities, and Tivets.
Education shapes the image and dignity of any nation, and this will very much determine Kenya’s prosperity and repositioning in the world competitiveness.
This is the reason journalists should put much emphasis on education reporting.
