The Teachers Service Commission will recruit 2,672 tutors to replace those who left the service in November and December last year.

A total of 1,681 primary school teachers and 524 for post primary institutions will be hired to replace those who left in November, while 366 primary and 101 post-primary teachers will replace those who left in December.

The TSC chief executive, Ms Nancy Macharia, said those seeking the positions must be Kenyans aged 45 and below and must be registered with the commission.

"Applicants for vacancies in primary schools must be holders of a P1 certificate and will be selected from the county merit lists compiled during the June recruitment," Ms Macharia said.

SHORTAGE

She added that successful candidates would be sent to any part of the country and not necessarily where they are recruited.

"Applicants for vacancies in post primary institutions must be holders of a minimum of diploma in education certificate," the TSC boss said, adding that they had until February 7 to submit their applications.

The commission is also conducting a survey on the number of schools facing teacher shortages.

The aim is to recruit more teachers as the government hopes to achieve the goal of 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary school.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATION to teachers

The government wants to hire 50,000 teachers in the coming four years to plug the shortage in secondary schools.

It has been under pressure from teachers' unions and other education stakeholders to recruit tutors before rolling out the free day secondary education.

The TSC has asked for 12,696 teachers to be employed annually for the next four years, in addition to the 5,000 it hires every year.

It estimates that the recruitment will cost the government Sh8.3 billion annually, with the total cost coming to Sh33.2 billion over the four years.