When Sylvia Moige talks about her early teaching years, her voice softens — part pain, part pride. “I went on maternity leave, and when I came back, I was told someone else had taken over my job,” she recalls quietly. “I felt really bad because when you are on BOM terms, there is no job security at all.”
That was in Kisii County, five years ago. Sylvia had just given birth to her first child and was working under a Board of Management (BOM) contract — a system that often leaves teachers with little protection. Returning to find her position gone, she faced months of uncertainty and silent heartbreak.
Yet she refused to quit.
For years, Sylvia applied repeatedly to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), hoping for a permanent post. Each rejection — in 2019, 2020, and again in 2022 — deepened her disappointment, but never her resolve.
“I just kept trying,” she says. “Every time there was an advert, I would apply again. I knew one day something would work out.”
Her patience finally paid off. In 2023, when President William Ruto’s government announced the recruitment of 15,000 teachers on permanent and pensionable terms, Sylvia’s name was among the successful applicants.
“That day, I felt like my whole world changed,” she says with a smile. “It was not just a job. It was dignity, security, and a second chance at my dream.”
Now teaching Biology and Chemistry at Loresho Secondary School in Nairobi, Sylvia walks into her classroom each morning with renewed purpose. “I wanted to be a doctor,” she admits. “But teaching these subjects feels like I’m still part of that world. Some of my students have gone on to study medicine — that’s my greatest joy.”
Her story mirrors that of thousands of Kenyan teachers who spent years in limbo, waiting for stable employment. The Teachers Service Commission says reforms have since made recruitment more transparent and fairer.
“We have been able to recruit 76,000 teachers in three years, between 2022 and now,” said Acting TSC Chief Executive Officer Evaleen Mitei. “Before that, the government would hire only 5,000 a year. Under the new system, more teachers now have a chance to serve.”
TSC Chairperson Dr Jamleck Muturi echoed that sentiment, saying the recent wave of recruitment aims not only to improve the teacher-pupil ratio but also to enhance learning quality. “The first important person in any curriculum implementation is the teacher,” he noted. “Recruitment ensures every learner has access to qualified instructors in all learning areas.”
President Ruto has also praised educators as “Kenya’s greatest resource and patriots,” promising continued investment in the sector. His deputy, Kithure Kindiki — once a law lecturer himself — called teachers “selfless people who lose sleep for the sake of other people’s children.”
For Sylvia, those words ring true. Her path was never easy, but it has brought her to a place of quiet pride. “I’m finally where I belong,” she says, looking around her classroom. “It was worth the wait.”
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