Kenya’s education authorities are facing a growing shortage of specialised teachers as admission to Senior Schools, under the new curriculum, approaches.
The Ministry of Education and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) are now under pressure to address acute staffing gaps ahead of the transition to senior school under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system, with science and technology subjects bearing the brunt of the crisis.
In January 2026, an estimated 1.1 million learners are expected to move into Grade 10, a shift that education planners say will require tens of thousands of additional teachers across new learning pathways.
PROJECTION
Official projections indicate that the transition will require at least 58,590 teachers nationwide, with more than half needed in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The STEM pathway alone is projected to require 35,111 teachers to staff more than 15,000 classes expected to register learners in the first year of senior school.
Education officials say learner preference for science-based subjects has outpaced the system’s capacity to supply qualified instructors.
Other pathways are also facing staffing pressures. Social sciences will require an estimated 14,630 teachers, while arts and sports programmes are projected to need about 8,778.
Beyond these headline figures, significant shortages persist in vocational and technical subjects, indigenous languages, digital studies and creative arts, raising concerns about whether schools can offer the full range of choices envisioned under CBE.
EMERGING NEEDS
The scale of the deficit reflects long-standing structural challenges in teacher recruitment and training. While the new curriculum demands specialised skills and interdisciplinary teaching, universities and teacher training colleges have been slow to align programmes with emerging needs. As a result, schools risk opening senior classes without adequately trained staff or relying on overstretched teachers to cover unfamiliar subjects.
The Ministry and TSC say mitigation measures are underway, including prioritising schools with existing infrastructure, redeploying trained teachers and rolling out targeted re-training programmes.
However, education stakeholders warn these steps may offer only short-term relief unless accompanied by sustained investment in teacher education and recruitment.
