RUTO makes a U-turn on his promise to hire 116,000 teachers after coming to terms with reality
RUTO makes a U-turn on his promise to hire 116,000 teachers after coming to terms with reality
RUTO makes a U-turn on his promise to hire 116,000 teachers after coming to terms with reality
After promising to hire 116,000 teachers during his presidential campaigns, President William Ruto has changed his mind.
This is after he said he will only hire a few teachers even as the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) seeks to bridge the gap in public schools.
Speaking yesterday, Ruto, through Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Ezekiel Machogu, announced that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) would recruit only 30,000 teachers in January 2023 compared to 58,000 as expected.
“We know that this coming year, we had promised 116,000 teachers, but because of the nature of the economy, we are going to do it progressively.
“So, this coming January, we are going to recruit 30,000 teachers and will improve thereafter,” Machogu stated.
The CS explained that the dwindling economy could not allow the President’s promises to be fulfilled all at once.
“The remainder of the 116,000 promised by President William Ruto during the election campaigns has been pushed forward due to the current economic situation,” the CS stated.
Machogu expects the new hirings to address the deficit in the teaching force, especially in anticipation of the Grade six cohort transcending into the junior secondary level.
“As we open schools in January 2023, our children who are doing the CBC exam will know whether they will be hosted in primary or secondary school following instructions from the President,” the CS detailed.
Ruto had promised to recruit 116,000 unemployed teachers within his first year in office, and even signed a charter where he promised to make notable improvements in the sector to mitigate the national teacher-student ratio gap. but as it turns out, he was just after the teachers’ votes.
TSC had previously decried a severe teacher deficiency in both primary and secondary schools, admitting that it was short of 114,581 teachers.
