Plight of over 39,000 Registered but unemployed Teachers

𝐌𝐏𝐒 𝐏𝐔𝐒𝐇 𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐘𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝟒𝟓 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒

Members of the National Assembly are calling on the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to adopt affirmative action measures to address the plight of over 39,000 registered teachers aged 45 and above who remain unemployed.

Appearing before the Committee on Education, TSC Acting CEO Evaleen Mitei revealed that as of June 2025, 39,017 teachers aged over 45 were registered but not employed by the Commission. However, only 2,837 of them had disclosed their counties and sub-counties of residence.

“The Commission regrets that out of the 39,017 teachers, only 2,837 provided full location data,” Mitei said. “This limits our ability to analyse the regional distribution of these teachers accurately.”

The remarks were made in response to a request by Soy MP Hon. David Kiplagat, who sought data on the number of unemployed teachers above 45 years and urged the Commission to provide a policy framework to absorb them.

“Looking at the data you’ve presented, my questions may not have been answered.” Hon. Kiplagat asked. “You’ve said you don’t have the budget to hire all the teachers, but surely, we can do something for those who’ve waited this long.”

He called for urgent intervention. “Let us have affirmative action. Compel the TSC to come up with a framework to absorb teachers aged 45 years and above.”

Committee Chairperson, Hon. Julius Melly directed the Commission to return to Parliament within two weeks with a cleaned-up database showing the distribution of these teachers by county and sub-county.

“Before counties, we had districts. These districts became counties. It is possible to give us this information,” Hon. Melly insisted. “We need a comprehensive and cleaned-up register.”

Adding to the concerns, Hon. Dick Maungu criticised the state of the TSC register. “Do you clean up your registers like IEBC cleans the voter register? Why can’t you update yours?”

According to TSC data, only 13 teachers aged 45 and above were recruited in Uasin Gishu County during the 2024/2025 financial year out of a total of 516 hired nationally.

In defence, the TSC cited ongoing efforts to improve inclusivity. Ms. Mitei stated that the Commission uses a merit-based system that awards more points to older applicants and those who graduated earlier.

“We acknowledge the feedback on affirmative action and will consult our board. We also wish to clarify that while these teachers are registered and not employed by TSC, many may be engaged in other sectors including private schools,” said the Acting CEO.

Legal Director Cavin Anyour pointed out a challenge in data completeness, explaining, “Most of the teachers registered before the county system was established, and as such, their location data is missing.”

Hon. Joshua Makilap suggested a practical solution for future recruitments. “If we want to get the exact data on unemployed teachers aged 45 and above, let TSC capture these details in the next recruitment drive.”

The Commission also cited a 2019 court judgment (Suyianka Lempaa v TSC & Another) that declared age-based caps on recruitment unconstitutional, prompting TSC to drop the 45-year age limit.

Acting CEO Mitei outlined additional reforms. “We have enhanced our scoring system to give older teachers more points, use age as a tie-breaker, and we continue to appeal for increased budget allocation.”

She noted that the Commission has advised the government to support market-driven teacher training programs to ensure a better match between supply and demand.

Despite these commitments, Committee Members emphasized that more must be done to ensure that ageing, qualified teachers are not left behind.

“We are not just asking for data. We are asking for solutions to give dignity to teachers who have waited decades,” Hon. Julius Melly said.