There is no shortage of teachers in Kenya - report

From left, Planning and Statistics Principal Secretary Saitoti Torome, Water and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, his counterpart in Devolution Mwangi Kiunjuri, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics acting Director General Zachary Mwangi, and chairman Terry Ryan during the release the 2016 Economic Survey report at KICC in Nairobi on May 3, 2016. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The pupil-to-teacher ratio in public primary schools stood at 41:1 last year compared to 43:1 in 2014, while in public secondary schools it was 27:1.

  • The figures are close to the global average of 35:1 for both levels.

  • The government plans to hire 5,000 more teachers in July after The National Treasury allocated Sh4.5 billion for recruitment and promotions.

Kenya has enough teachers for the more than 12.7 million students in public schools across the country, according to the latest Economic Survey.

The pupil-to-teacher ratio in public primary schools stood at 41:1 last year compared to 43:1 in 2014, while in public secondary schools it was 27:1.

The figures are close to the global average of 35:1 for both levels.

Teachers trade unions have been campaigning for the employment of more teachers, saying there was a shortage of about 60,000 in primary and secondary schools and that the average ratio at both levels stood at 70:1.

The survey, conducted by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, shows the number of public primary school teachers was 210,991 in 2015, compared to 200,697 in 2014 — an increase of 5.1 per cent.

The total number of teachers in public secondary schools and tertiary institutions “increased by 8.5 per cent from 78,727 in 2014 to 85,438 in 2015, a rise attributed to recruitment and reinstatement of those who have been out of service due to study leave and disciplinary cases,” says the survey.

The government plans to hire 5,000 more teachers in July after The National Treasury allocated Sh4.5 billion for recruitment and promotions.

Another Sh2.8 billion has been earmarked for the second phase of teachers’ housing allowances.

The Teachers Service Commission has also been the largest employer in the public service, registering a 3.2 per cent growth in employment to 290,700 in 2015, the study shows.

The survey also indicates that basic education has expanded significantly with enrolment in secondary schools standing at 2.6 million compared to 2.3 million in 2014 while that in primary school is 10.1 million compared to 10 million in 2014.

Pre-primary school enrolment increased by 6.7 per cent to 3.2 million last year, it added.

The number of secondary schools also increased from 8,747 in 2014 to 9,440 in 2015 while primary schools stood at 31,333 in 2015, an increase from 29,460 in 2014.

The document shows that the retention rate at secondary school from Form One to Form Four has improved from 89.5 per cent in 2014 to 95.4 per cent in 2015 with girls registering a completion rate of 87.3 per cent compared to 94.1 per cent for boys.

SCHOOL-GOING AGE

Enrolment in Standard One however decreased from 1.4 million in 2014 to 1.3 in 2015, mainly due to strict enforcement of the official school-going age of six years.

The number of Early Childhood Development Education teachers increased by 2.3 per cent from 104,784 in 2014 to 107,187 in 2015 while the tally of trained teachers rose by 5.4 per cent from 88,154 in 2014 to 92,906 in 2015, which was attributed mainly to employment of more teachers by county governments.

The survey attributed the rise in enrolment at pre-primary level to increased investment by the devolved units.