TSC to hire 46,000 teachers as education gets lion’s share of budget

The government will allocate the highest share of the 2024-2025 budget to the Ministry of Education in its quest to uplift the standards of education.

The National Assembly Budget and Appropriation Committee chairman Ndindi Nyoro said the sector has been allocated 27 per cent of the budget for the year starting July 1.

Nyoro said Sh26.3 billion will be given to the Teachers Service Commission to employ 26,000 junior secondary school teachers.

“Starting this July, we will give TSC funds to offer permanent employment to 26,000 JSS teachers who were recruited on contract,” Nyoro.

He presided over the launch of Wundanyi Constituency NG-CDF strategic plan on Saturday.

The Kiharu legislator said that TSC will recruit another 20,000 teachers in a bid to bridge the current deficit.

He said the Kenya Kwanza government is keen on investing more of the country’s budget in the education as part of interventions to cushion Kenyans from the high cost of schooling.

“We have made a deliberate decision to put more resources where more people will benefit. Education and agriculture are among the sectors that we are keen on improving,” he said.

In the agriculture sector, Nyoro said the state is capitalising on incentivising production in order to substitute imports.

Agriculture being the country’s leading employer, Nyoro said, more farm inputs including subsidised fertiliser has been made available to spur production.

The government is giving out sunflower and canola seeds to farmers to boost production of edible oil and cutting imports.

“We have a plan to bolster local production of edible oil and save the huge amounts used to import the product. This explains why we are giving incentives to farmers to grow edible oil inputs,” Nyoro noted.

Kenya spends more than Sh100 billion to import edible oil, making it the second highest import after crude oil.

Nyoro said funds for the elderly people and those living with disability will also be prioritised in the 2024-25 financial year.  Beneficiaries under the cash transfer programme will receive their share via mobile banking services to ease access.

The youthful legislator was accompanied by his counterparts Danson Mwashako (Wundanyi), Peter Shake (Mwatate) and Baringo Woman Rep Jematiah Sergon.

The lawmaker assured Kenyan’s that the country's economy is on the right trajectory and that the cost of living will continue going down in the coming days.

He stated that the nation's GDP grew by 5.6 per cent in 2023, placing the country as the 29th fastest growing economy in the world.

He attributed the positive economic growth to the good policies and proper allocation of funds undertaken by the Kenya Kwanza government.

Inflation, he said, has reduced from 10 to six per cent, indicating a possible further drop in the cost of living.

Nyoro noted that the shilling has continued to gain drastically against the dollar in recent days, a strong indication of economic recovery under President William Ruto's administration.

Mwashako asked the government to prioritise completion of the 54km Mtomwagodi-Bura road.

Construction of the road linking Wundanyi to the Voi-Mwatate-Holili highway started in 2022 but has since stalled due to lack of funds.