President William Ruto has directed the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to increase the number of teachers due for promotion this financial year from 34,016 to 50,000.
Ruto made the announcement on Monday, October 5, 2026, while leading the national World Teachers’ Day celebrations at the Kasarani Gymnasium in Nairobi.
The President said the expanded promotions would constitute the largest number of teacher promotions carried out in a single year.
“TSC has already advertised 34,016 promotion opportunities. This will be the largest single teacher promotion exercise undertaken in one year,” Ruto said.
He directed the commission to increase the number further and assured TSC that the government would provide additional funding to facilitate the exercise.
“I want to encourage TSC to increase the number of promotions from 34,000 to 50,000. The government will make additional resources available for that promotion,” he added.
Teacher Promotion Budget Doubled
Ruto said the government had doubled the annual teacher promotion budget from KSh1 billion to KSh2 billion as part of efforts to improve teachers’ career progression.
He also said the government had increased funding for education to KSh784.5 billion in the 2026/27 financial year, describing education as the sector receiving the largest allocation in the national budget.
“We celebrate our teachers as the heroes and patriots of our nation. They do more than teach our children. They shape the people who build Kenya,” Ruto said.
The President said the increased investment was also intended to improve teachers’ welfare, professional growth and working conditions.
20,000 More Teachers to Be Hired
Ruto also announced that the government plans to recruit another 20,000 teachers by December 2026.
The additional recruitment would push the total number of teachers hired under his administration to 120,000, according to the President.
He said the government had also allocated KSh4.9 billion to convert 20,000 contract teachers who have served for at least two years to permanent and pensionable terms from January 2027.
Teachers Could Receive Retirement Benefits Within 10 Days
Ruto further said the government was working on a system that would allow retiring teachers to receive their retirement benefits within 10 days of leaving service.
He said agencies responsible for processing retirement benefits had assured him that the system would be operational within three months.
The announcements came as Kenya joined the rest of the world in marking World Teachers’ Day, with this year's celebrations at Kasarani bringing together thousands of teachers, government officials, education stakeholders and representatives of the teaching profession.
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