In September 2025, President William Ruto hosted a forum at State House bringing together more than 10,000 teachers from unions including the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT). The President pledged a range of improvements for educators. This included a bigger share of affordable housing units under the government programme, a faster review cycle for salary negotiations, faster retirement benefit processing, promotions for more teachers, and the permanent employment of junior secondary school teachers on internship terms.
Months later, however, serious disagreements have surfaced between the unions and the Teachers Service Commission over how and whether those commitments are being implemented. Leaders from KUPPET in particular say that many of the presidential promises have not been acted upon by the TSC. They have noted that the Commission has not taken key steps such as submitting requests for funding to Parliament for the planned promotion of thousands of additional teachers.
Union officials have also argued that mechanisms to shorten the duration of future Collective Bargaining Agreement cycles from four years to two have not been operationalised, and that no technical committee has been convened to review job descriptions as originally discussed. They raised similar concerns around the promised allocation of housing units for teachers, with correspondence still pending responses from relevant officials.
The disputes culminated this week in a high-level meeting between KUPPET and the TSC that ended without agreement, highlighting fundamental differences in expectations on implementation, trust, and accountability. Union representatives expressed disillusionment with what they call delayed action by the TSC on core issues raised at the State House forum.
These developments come amid wider uncertainty in the education sector. Separate reporting has noted ongoing concerns about internships, promotions, and broader wage and benefits disputes that have previously led to protest action and industrial unrest over the years.
