Emuria Lotubae
Maralal.
President William Ruto has reaffirmed his administration’s plan to recruit 100,000 new teachers by January 2026, marking the largest single teacher hiring initiative in Kenya’s history.
Speaking Sunday during his working tour of Samburu County, the president described education as the cornerstone of national development and a central pillar of his government’s agenda to reduce inequality and expand opportunities for young Kenyans.
“We would have hired 100,000 by January 2026,” Ruto said at Archers Post, where he also launched a new affordable housing project.
The recruitment drive aims to address chronic teacher shortages and improve learning outcomes, particularly in rural and marginalized regions such as Samburu, where overcrowded classrooms and inadequate staffing have long undermined quality education.
Since taking office in 2022, the Ruto administration has hired 76,000 teachers, with an additional 24,000 set to join the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) payroll by early next year. The TSC previously reported a deficit of over 116,000 teachers, underscoring the urgency of the initiative.
The teacher hiring plan forms part of a broader education reform agenda that includes a record Sh702 billion education budget for the 2025 fiscal year and the ongoing construction of 23,000 classrooms to support the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). Earlier this year, the government confirmed 46,000 Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers on permanent terms and onboarded 20,000 interns, with Sh2.4 billion allocated for further expansion in 2026.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has praised the pace of recruitment as “unprecedented,” though challenges remain, including delays in capitation funding for schools and demands by JSS teachers for full employment and greater autonomy in school management.
While in Samburu County, President Ruto also launched several key infrastructure and development projects aimed at boosting connectivity, training, and access to essential services. These included the Kisima–Wamba Road, the tarmacking of the 20-kilometre Kisima–Sura Adoru Road in Kisima, and the groundbreaking of a 340-bed student hostel at the Samburu West Technical and Vocational College. He also inaugurated the Maralal–Baragoi Road and the Milimani Affordable Housing Project in Maralal.
The president further announced the Sh760 million Maralal Water Supply Project, which he said will “guarantee reliable, sufficient, and affordable water for communities.”
The TSC has budgeted Sh387 billion for the 2025/2026 financial year, including Sh7.2 billion earmarked for new intern hires. Officials say the January 2026 milestone will mark a major step toward achieving universal access to quality education and advancing the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda’s human capital goals.