The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has called on universities to urgently review their teacher training programmes to address a growing shortage of educators in specialized subjects introduced under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBE).
Speaking at the release of the 2026 Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) placement results on Wednesday, July 8, TSC representative Dr. Reuben Nthamburi said several senior school learning areas are facing an acute shortage of qualified teachers because these subjects were not previously offered in teacher-training institutions.
According to Dr. Nthamburi, subjects struggling with shortage of teachers include Building Construction, Woodwork, Media Work, Marine and Fisheries, and Home Science.
“Those subjects have the biggest challenge because they are new and were not there before,” he said.
TSC Asks Universities to Review Teacher Training for CBE
Dr. Nthamburi urged universities to align their teacher education programmes with the Teacher Education Framework developed by TSC to ensure graduates are adequately prepared to teach under the competency-based education system.
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“We are requesting universities to be able to align themselves with the training of teachers in line with the Teacher Education Framework which has been developed by the Commission for university alignment to competency-based education,” he said.
“The reason is we require the universities now to train teachers so that they come out qualified and are competency-based.”
He noted that revising university curricula will help bridge the teacher gap as learners transition into senior school under CBE.
Subjects Universities Should Introduce
TSC appealed to universities to reorganize their curricula and incorporate training in several specialized subjects that are currently in high demand.
The Commission listed the following learning areas:
- Building Construction
- Woodwork
- Media Work
- Media Technology
- Marine and Fisheries
- Aviation
- Creative Arts
- Pre-Technical Studies
- Integrated Science
- Home Science
- Music and Dance
- Theatre and Film
- Sports and Recreation
Dr. Nthamburi said these subjects pose the greatest staffing challenge in senior schools and require universities to begin training qualified teachers to meet the country’s future educational needs.
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KUCCPS Releases 2025 KCSE Placement Results
The call from TSC came during the release of the 2026 placement results by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), marking the start of admissions for thousands of students to universities and other tertiary institutions.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba announced that 980,535 candidates who sat the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination were eligible to apply for placement to programmes of their choice.
Of these, 270,508 candidates attained a mean grade of C+ and above, qualifying them for degree programmes. The remaining candidates qualified for placement into national polytechnics, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), teacher training colleges, the Kenya Utalii College and other tertiary institutions.
KUCCPS said that, in accordance with the Universities Act, 2012, placement into universities and colleges is based on merit, taking into account applicants’ KCSE performance, programme preferences and the available capacity in each institution.
The release of the placement results also provides universities with an opportunity to review and expand their teacher education programmes in response to TSC’s call for more graduates in specialized subjects needed to support the competency-based education system.
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