President William Ruto has announced that the government will have recruited 120,000 teachers by December 2026, revising upwards an earlier target of 116,000 by July 2027.
Speaking at the Kasarani Gymnasium during World Teachers’ Day celebrations, the President said the record Sh784.5 billion education budget for the 2026–27 financial year also caters for the conversion of 20,000 contract teachers to permanent and pensionable terms.
He described the combined recruitment and conversion drive as the largest teacher enrolment pool in Kenya’s history, accompanied by unprecedented promotion opportunities.
“Since we took office, 126,462 teachers have been promoted—more than under any other previous administration,” Ruto said.
The President reminded teachers of pledges he made last year on career progression and said he was now reporting back on progress.
He said the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and teacher unions have finalised talks on new career progression guidelines and are awaiting approval by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) within the next two weeks.
He said TSC has already advertised 34,016 teacher promotion slots, while the government has doubled the annual teacher promotion budget to Sh2 billion.
“This will be the largest single teacher promotion exercise undertaken in one year. I want to encourage the TSC to enhance these 34,000 promotions to 50,000,” the President said, adding that the government would make resources available for the additional promotions.
Health cover expanded for teachers
On health, Ruto said teachers previously had access to only seven per cent in-patient care compared with 14 per cent for other civil servants.
He said access has since been equalised, with 415,608 teachers and 884,392 dependants covered by September 2026.
More than 680,000 teachers and their dependants used the Social Health Authority (SHA) between December 2025 and September 2026, he added.
“Before, teachers could only receive in-patient care in 900 facilities. Today, you can do so in 3,871 facilities across the nation,” Ruto said.
“You remember you told me then the cover you had before looked very nice on paper but very poor in practice—and that is what we have changed,” he told the teachers.
Salaries, CBA and housing
On pay, the President said teachers signed a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with TSC last year, with the first phase of enhanced salaries paid promptly and the second in July this year.
“This year’s budget provides a further Sh8.1 billion to keep the agreement on schedule this year,” Ruto said, adding that teachers’ request to shorten the four-year CBA cycle to two years was also under consideration.
“Let me go work on this homework, and by the way, I’m not one who fails exams,” he told a jubilant crowd of teachers.
The President said the government has also unlocked a home-ownership path for teachers, with 20,000 affordable housing units reserved for them.
He said the Affordable Housing Board signed an agreement with KUPPET and KNUT in September 2025 for one in every five affordable housing units to go to teachers.
Ruto said the board is working with TSC on a check-off system to enable teachers to pay for the homes directly from their salaries.
“We are also partnering with teachers’ saccos to design financing that fits a teacher’s income. To own a home, all you need to do is to apply for your preferred unit through the Boma Yangu platform,” he said.
Faster retirement benefits
On retirement benefits, Ruto said the Pension Management Information System has been established with the collaboration bweteen TSC and National Treasury to fast-track payment of benefits once teachers exit the service, with records now being uploaded.
“The agents responsible have assured me that within the next three months, we will pay a teacher’s retirement benefits within 10 days of their retirement,” Ruto said.
He added that this has been enhanced and will apply to retired employees across the entire civil service.
