President William Ruto has announced that the government is going to hire 24,000 new teachers in a major boost to the education sector.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

Speaking after assenting to the 2026 finance bill at the statehouse on Tuesday, June 23, the Head of State said the hiring of the new teachers is aimed at addressing staffing gaps in public schools and improving the teacher-to-student ratio across the country.

In addition to the new teachers, Ruto also announced that the government will regularise the employment status of 20,000 teachers currently on contract, transitioning them to permanent and pensionable terms.

"To honour our commitment to teachers on contract terms, 20,000 teachers will transition to permanent and pensionable terms as has been provided in the budget," Ruto stated.

📌 What You Need to Know

"In addition, we will recruit a further 24,000 teachers, bringing the total number of teachers hired by this administration to 124,000 teachers," he added.

The new hiring push will bring the total number of teachers recruited under the current administration to approximately 124,000 since it assumed office in September 2022.

The move comes after the government allocated Ksh783 billion in the 2026/27 budget to the education ministry.

The confirmation of the 20,000 teachers to permanent and pensionable terms comes against the backdrop of Ruto's orders to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) that teachers would only be hired on contract terms for not more than two years .

Speaking during a National Education Conference in Naivasha on Thursday, May 7, Ruto said that more than 44,000 teachers were recruited on contract terms, with the understanding that after two years, they would be automatically transitioned to permanent and pensionable terms by TSC.

"I hope there are no teachers who have served more than two years as interns because that is not what I bargained for. Every teacher can only serve for two years on contract after which they transition to permanent and pensionable terms," Ruto stated.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke