A new report has shown that the number of PhD and Master’s holders working in public primary schools increased significantly in the fiscal year ending December 2023.
According to the most recent data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), 2,060 PhD and Master’s holders worked as public elementary school teachers in December 2023.
Of these, 889 were men and 1,171 were women.
This number was 2047 in 2022, compared to 1,987 in 2021 for Master’s and Doctorate degree holders teaching in public elementary schools.
“The total number of public primary teachers decreased by 0.8%, from 221,510 in 2022 to 219,727 in 2023,” KNBS’s Economic Survey 2024 showed.
Retirement, disciplinary action, study leave and natural attrition are among the factors contributing to this drop, according to survey.
Among these teachers, those with certificates decreased by 2.8% to 148,525 and accounted for the greatest proportion of primary school teachers (67.6%) in 2023.
In 2023, the number of male teachers declined by 1.3% to 100,947, while female teachers decreased by 0.3% to 118,780.
During the review period, the number of teachers with master’s and doctoral degrees, bachelor’s degrees and diplomas increased by 0.6, 3.3, and 4.1%, to 2,060, 28,226 and 40,916, respectively.
The report further showed that 6,224 PhD and Master’s holders presently teach in public secondary schools – 3,343 men and 2,881 women.
In 2022, the number of Master’s and Doctorate degree holders teaching at the secondary level was 5,822.
As earlier reported on WoK, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) witnessed mass resignation from teachers who are seeking to practice abroad.
The teachers are signing contracts to travel to the United States and the United Kingdom to where they are experiencing a shortage of teachers.
The teachers in question have noted that the salary they are being offered for teaching abroad is a far cry from what they receive in Kenya.
A section of teachers who are on their way out of the country attributed the move to skewed and delayed promotions.
“In Kenya if you decide to become a teacher the only thing that you can afford is a small house maybe a two-bedroom and pay school fees for only two children,” Felix Wanyaga said.
The teachers called on the government to improve remuneration of teachers to prevent teachers from working elsewhere.
