The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has welcomed a pledge by the Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga that if he forms the government, he will employ all trained teachers who are still unemployed.
In a manifesto launched on Monday, June 6, 2022, Odinga promises to invest heavily in the education sector, which he said will be accessible, for free, to all Kenyans from primary to university.
And with a shortage of teachers that public primary and secondary schools have been facing, the former Prime Minister said his administration will address the issue by absorbing all of the teaching workforces.
“No child shall be left behind. We commit to employing all qualified teachers who are currently unemployed,” Odinga said.
KNUT Chepkoilel Executive Secretary Sammy Bor says the pledge if implemented, will help reduce the burden teachers have been carrying.
“As KNUT, we desire that the government employs more teachers to correspond with the high number of students. With more teachers, congestion in classrooms will be addressed,” Bor says.
Currently, the country has a shortage of 114,581 teachers.
Statistics from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) however show that there are at least 300,000 trained teachers who have not been employed.
And with the free education pledge, the KNUT official says employing all trained teachers will be a major boost in the education sector.
Bor however challenged the Azimio Coalition to find a way that will enable the government to sustain the huge wage bill that would come with employing all teachers and providing free education to Kenyan children.
“The wage bill for paying teachers is already huge and employing over 300,000 teachers will push it higher and could affect other sectors,” said the unionist.
He also challenged political formations to engage in wide consultations with stakeholders in the education sector before coming up with pledges related to the sector.
In the 2022/2023 Financial Year, TSC that pays teachers was Ksh298.4 billion. Economic experts however say the figure will have to rise by at least Ksh150 billion if the 300,000 teachers will have to be employed.
