The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has urged members of parliament (MPs) to increase the budget for the promotion of teachers.
Speaking yesterday during her appearance before the National Assembly Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) led by Hon. Eric Karemba (Runyenjes), TSC CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia informed the lawmakers that the Commission cannot promote a sufficient number of teachers owing to limited funding.
She was delivering a report on the Commission’s achievements in meeting its constitutional obligations and the obstacles that impede effective service delivery.
Macharia cautioned about an impending education crisis caused by insufficient budget allocation for the promotion and distribution of teachers nationwide.
Dr. Macharia pointed out that although the government currently designates sh. 1 billion per year for teacher promotions, this sum is inadequate to meet the rising number of eligible teachers.
“Honourable Members, while we appreciate the Kshs. 1 billion earmarked for teacher promotions, this amount only allows for the promotion of 6,000 teachers out of a teaching workforce exceeding 500,000. This ongoing situation demoralizes deserving teachers and impacts service delivery in our schools,” Dr. Macharia emphasized.
Macharia indicated that the TSC requires sh5 billion annually to promote teachers and effectively prevent stagnation.
She made this statement in response after lawmakers expressed concerns regarding the issues surrounding teacher promotions.
The Commission has been receiving a budget of sh 1 billion each year for the purpose of promoting teachers, which Macharia described as a mere drop in the ocean.
“With just one billion shillings, we can only promote 6,000 teachers. We need five billion annually to adequately tackle stagnation,” Macharia asserted.
In 2024, TSC promoted a total of 19,943 teachers after securing sh 1 billion in the 2023 – 2024 financial budget.
Last week, TSC identified 25,252 teachers who were successfully promoted this year following their participation in interviews in January and February.
The teachers will receive their appointment letters at the end of this month before being assigned to schools with vacancies.
MPs further pressed the issue of fairness in promotions and the ambiguous criteria applied, with reports indicating that some constituencies received as few as five promotions.
“We had only five teachers promoted out of 25,000. If distributed evenly among the 290 constituencies, we should have received at least 80,” contended Tiaty MP William Kamket.
Despite the intense questioning, the Commission stated that it continues to operate within its limitations and is committed to enhancing teacher welfare across the country.
The TSC claims that the promotion bottleneck, staffing discrepancies, and health insurance challenges all originate from inadequate funding and urged Parliament to reconsider policies to allow for more sustainable planning.
TSC protests inadequate funding for teacher promotions.