Govt to hire 24,000 more teachers by year-end, raising total to 100,000 in 2 years » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 31 — The government is set to recruit an additional 24,000 teachers by the end of the year as part of efforts to boost teacher-student ratio.

Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said the additional teachers will bring the total number of new hires under President William Ruto’s administration to to 100,000.

“This is a testimony to President William Ruto’s commitment to education,” Bitok said.

Bitok noted the government has already hired 76,000 teachers across junior and secondary education levels to boost staffing and help schools cope with the demands of implementing Curriculum-Based Education.

The PS was speaking at Baringo High School on Friday, where he presided over the institution’s 60th anniversary celebrations.

Bitok said department will budget for the hiring of another 16,000 teachers in 2026 to actualize President Ruto’s pledged to hire 116,000 teachers.

“He (Ruto) has set a very high budget for education— Sh700 billion in this financial year alone,” the PS said.

CBE rollout

Addressing students and alumni at the event, Bitok encouraged learners to embrace education as a path to a prosperous future.

“Your future is indeed bright if you focus on education,” he emphasized.

The recruitment of 24,000 additional teachers is part of the government’s broader plan to close staffing gaps in public schools and support the rollout of curriculum reforms.

Bitok also spoke about the ongoing shift from the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) to a Competency-Based Education (CBE) model.

“Someone asked me why we moved from CBC to CBE,” he noted.

“We started CBC about eight years ago and focused on curriculum. Now, with CBE, we are emphasizing not just content, but outcomes, skills, and readiness for the future.”

Bitok said the investment in teachers aligns with the government’s goal of ensuring quality, inclusive education and preparing learners to compete in a modern economy.

The teacher recruitment drive, Bitok noted, to significantly reduce the student-teacher ratio in public schools and enhance learning outcomes across the country.