Universities oppose state plan to limit teacher training admissions amid graduate unemployment

Universities and colleges have strongly opposed a government proposal to reduce the number of students admitted into teacher training programmes, arguing that the move could have far-reaching negative effects on the country’s education system. The institutions say limiting admissions will not only lock out thousands of qualified students but also jeopardise efforts to meet future teacher demand.

The Ministry of Education has called for a cap on teacher training admissions in response to the growing number of unemployed graduates. However, university leaders warn that the plan could worsen the existing teacher shortage and derail long-term education goals, including those outlined in the Education 2030 Agenda and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

Despite a nationwide shortage of 98,461 teachers in public schools, over 300,000 registered teachers remain jobless in Kenya.

Consultations have been held with university vice-chancellors on implementing the proposed admission cap, but both public and private universities have jointly warned in a position paper that the move could backfire.

“Restricting admission to teacher education programmes risks deepening these shortages in the next five decades, undermining key national and regional objectives, including the Education 2030 Agenda and the African Union’s Agenda 2063,” reads the letter as quoted by the Nation.

Admission letters

The university heads say that if the proposal is implemented, more than 100,000 students who qualify for university could be denied the opportunity to pursue their preferred education courses. The plan also affects teacher training colleges, which have already issued admission letters.

“The move will lock out thousands of students who have selected teaching as their preferred career,” the VCs note, adding that learners may be forced to settle for alternative courses.

They also argue that the restriction will limit Kenya’s ability to meet future demand for teachers.

“Limiting the number of students pursuing teacher education will have a long-term effect on Kenya’s capacity to meet the demand of teachers in the next 50 years,” the letter adds.

Violate Constitution

They warn that the move would violate constitutional provisions that guarantee every child access to education and contradict the Universities Act, 2012.

“It will also contradict the Universities Act, 2012, that gives universities freedom to determine the nature of programmes to offer as well as the number of students to admit, based on national, international and every university’s quality assurance policies, needs assessment and stakeholder participation,” they argue.

They also express concern over wasted investments, saying universities have already hired academic staff and expanded facilities to support a growing student population, following a directive by the Commission for University Education (CUE) to accommodate all 310,000 students who sat last year’s KCSE.

“This decision should not limit a singular field of study of teacher education. If applied, it should cut across business, medicine, agriculture, engineering and other disciplines which equally face the same challenges of lack of government employment,” the letter states.

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• Education
• Education Ministry
• Commission for University Education
• graduate unemployment
• teacher training
• Universities and colleges
• jobless teachers
• Universities oppose state plan to limit teacher training admissions amid graduate unemployment
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The universities further argue that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is not the only potential employer of teaching graduates, suggesting that the restriction is shortsighted and will undermine broader job market prospects.

The push to limit admissions comes even as Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba recently revealed that a total of 343,485 trained teachers in Kenya are registered with the TSC but remain unemployed.

Appearing before the Senate, Ogamba attributed the growing crisis to limited budgetary allocations and uneven distribution of teachers across counties.

He also clarified that registration with TSC is voluntary and not all graduates have complied, meaning the actual number of jobless trained teachers could be even higher.

“To mitigate the teacher unemployment crisis, the Ministry and TSC are enhancing collaborative recruitment efforts while lobbying for more budgetary allocations. However, disparities persist across counties, prompting calls for a fairer distribution strategy that ensures every region has adequate teaching staff,” Ogamba said.