A teacher during a learning session at a Kenyan primary school. The sector is facing a shortage of 100,000 teachers. Photo: Education News.
The report released on state of education in the country shows a looming crisis in the schools, with challenges marred in the sector threatening learning activities across schools in the country.
Among major challenges highlighted by the report include severe shortage of teachers, lack of basic infrastructure including toilets, laboratories and classrooms, basic requirements that learners interact with on a daily basis.
With the sector getting billion of allocation in the every financial year, the dire situation in schools continue to raise reg flags in the education sector.
According to a report released by Usawa Agenda and Zizi Afrique, depicts a picture of a struggling and overstretched education system in the country, from the lower levels of Early Childhood Development Education(ECDE) to tertiary institutions.
The report by the two indicates that the country has a shortage of 100,000 teachers, with Junior Secondary Schools and Senior Secondary Schools having the biggest deficit, as Junior Schools have 18,378 teachers have been posted against the required 83,899 required.
In secondary schools, 24,569 teachers have been posted against 188,378 required, while technical training colleges face a shortage of 672 teachers, however, primary schools have a surplus of overstaffed 18,194 teachers.
The report further shows that 1,600 senior schools set for Grade 10 transition, lack laboratories, a critical infrastructure in the new education system Competence Based Education (CBE). Additionally, 33.9% of schools are currently offering computer studies.
“That simply means that these are the only schools ready to offer the new curriculum, where computer studies is now a compulsory area. Out of the 33.9%, 92.95 are actually cluster 1, former national schools, and 17% are cluster four, former sub-county schools,” Dr. Emmanuel Manyasa the Executive Director Usawa Agenda said.
The report further revealed that more than recommended number of pupils share single toilets, with the national average by the Ministry of Education recommendation ratio of 30 boys and 25 girls per toilet, with the current 66 noys ad 62 girls per toilet.
” During break time, the pupils rush to use the toilet, with the 66 and 62 ratio, shows that some of the pupils will not use the toilet, or come back later,” Manyasa said.
However, Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok dismissed the teacher student ration, arguing that the government has employed 434, 000 teachers to serve 1.2 million learners with a small gap, which he said it would be narrowed by 2027, with the government set to employ more teachers in the current financial year.
“434,000 teachers have been employed by the government, the ratio is 1;29. The global UNSECO recommendation student-teacher ratio is 1:35, for primary or what we are calling currently comprehensive school is 1:25,” Bitok noted.
Over the week National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula had disclosed the government’s plan to employ 24,000 teachers in addition to the already employed 76,000 to reach the 100,000 mark, with a budget set aside to actualize that.
Bitok further stated that the Ministry had already mapped the 1,600 schools that lacked laboratories, confirming that construction works has already began, pledging that the classes will be ready for the Grade nine students transitioning to senior school.
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