Ruto Orders 50,000 Teacher Promotions, 20,000 Permanent Jobs

By Jane Chepkoech

President William Ruto has directed the promotion of 50,000 teachers this year and announced Sh4.9 billion to move 20,000 contract teachers to permanent and pensionable terms from January 2027, as the government steps up investment in the teaching profession.

Ruto said the additional promotions would be funded after the government doubled the teacher promotions budget from Sh1 billion to Sh2 billion in the current financial year.

The President made the announcement during World Teachers’ Day celebrations at Kasarani Gymnasium in Nairobi, where he outlined measures covering teacher recruitment, career progression, professional development, healthcare, housing and retirement benefits.

The government had initially advertised 34,016 promotion opportunities, but Ruto directed the Teachers Service Commission to increase the number by slightly under 16,000 slots.

“Today I am directing that this number be increased to 50,000, and the Government will provide the additional funding to make this possible,” Ruto said.

He described the planned exercise as the largest number of teacher promotions undertaken in a single year.

The announcement comes after the government recruited 100,000 teachers over the past four years, compared with an average of 5,000 recruits annually in previous years.

A further 20,000 teachers are expected to join the teaching workforce by December, bringing the total number recruited during the period to 120,000, according to Ruto.

The government has also set aside Sh4.9 billion to transition 20,000 contract teachers who have served for two years to permanent and pensionable terms beginning January 2027.

The move is part of efforts to address staffing shortages in public schools while providing greater employment security for teachers who have served under contractual arrangements.

Ruto said the government inherited an education system facing several unresolved challenges, including a shortage of 116,000 teachers and inadequate infrastructure as the country transitioned to Competency-Based Education.

He said the government chose to address the problems rather than postpone decisions that had been delayed for years.

The teacher measures form part of a broader increase in government spending on education.

Ruto said education funding has increased from Sh526 billion four years ago to Sh702 billion last year and Sh784.5 billion in the current allocation.

He described the amount as the largest allocation to any sector in the national budget.

The President said the additional resources were being directed toward teachers, school infrastructure, curriculum reforms and higher education financing.

“Over the past four years, education funding has risen from Sh526 billion to Sh702 billion last year and now to Sh784.5 billion; the largest allocation to any sector in our national budget,” he said.

The government has also built more than 23,000 classrooms in partnership with the National Government-Constituencies Development Fund and is equipping 1,600 laboratories to support science education and Senior School pathways.

Ruto said the reforms were intended to connect different parts of the education system, from the teacher and classroom to technical training, universities and the labor market.

“More teachers require more classrooms. New classrooms require well-prepared teachers. New pathways require laboratories and specialised skills. And every learner who succeeds in school deserves a clear and affordable path into higher education,” he said.

The government is also seeking to address concerns over prolonged stagnation in teachers’ career grades.

Ruto said 126,462 teachers had been promoted since his administration took office, but acknowledged that some teachers had remained in the same grade for decades.

He said the Teachers Service Commission and teachers’ unions had completed consultations on revised career progression guidelines, which are awaiting approval by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

The new guidelines, together with the increased promotion budget, are intended to create more opportunities for career advancement within the teaching service.

The government is also pushing to make continuous professional development a more permanent feature of the teaching profession.

Ruto said teachers must continually acquire new skills as the education system moves deeper into Competency-Based Education and the economy increasingly demands digital, scientific and technological capabilities.

He said the Teachers Service Commission is working with institutions including the Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa, the Kenya Education Management Institute and the Kenya Institute of Special Education to support teacher development.

“As Parliament considers the ongoing education reform proposals, we have an opportunity to anchor teacher preparation and continuous professional development firmly in law,” Ruto said.

The proposed approach would require teachers to continue learning throughout their careers, with opportunities to improve their classroom practice, specialize and share effective teaching methods.

Ruto also challenged teachers to adapt to changing technology and prepare learners for a labor market increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, data and digital skills.

“Our children cannot learn tomorrow’s skills from yesterday’s methods,” he said.

The government is simultaneously pursuing changes to the financing of tertiary education.

Under the proposed Tertiary Education, Placement and Funding Bill, 2026, the government intends to ensure that every student admitted to a university, technical college or Kenya Medical Training College receives full funding.

Ruto said the proposed framework would make access to higher education less dependent on a family’s financial circumstances.

“A child’s place in higher education should depend on their ability and ambition, not on the income of their parents,” he said.

The proposed changes would build on the government’s current Student-Centered Funding Model and form part of a broader effort to create a more predictable pathway from basic education to tertiary training.

The President also outlined measures aimed at improving teachers’ welfare beyond salaries and promotions.

The teachers’ medical scheme under the Social Health Authority covered 415,608 teachers and 884,392 dependents as of the end of September, while more than 680,000 teachers and family members had used the scheme between December 2025 and September 2026.

Ruto said teachers’ inpatient access rate had doubled from 7 percent to 14 percent, with the number of facilities available to teachers increasing from 900 to 3,871.

The government has also allocated Sh8.1 billion in the current budget to keep the teachers’ Collective Bargaining Agreement on schedule.

On housing, the government has reserved 20 percent of units in affordable housing developments for teachers, while the Affordable Housing Board is working with TSC on a salary check-off system to facilitate payments.

The government is also rolling out a Pension Management Information System aimed at reducing the time teachers wait for retirement benefits. Ruto said the system was expected to enable payment within 10 days of retirement once the rollout is completed.

Taken together, the measures announced by Ruto point to a broader government strategy to expand the teaching workforce, improve career progression and strengthen teacher welfare while increasing education spending.

The administration is also seeking to align teacher preparation and the wider education system with the skills Kenya expects to need as it pursues a more knowledge-driven economy.