Kenya to Export Teachers Abroad Amid Rising Unemployment

Unemployment has become a significant challenge across many African nations, prompting governments to explore various strategies to address the issue. In Kenya, the Education Cabinet Secretary (CS), Migos Ogamba, revealed that more than 400,000 qualified teachers remain unemployed due to financial constraints that limit the government’s ability to hire them. As a potential solution to this crisis, the government is considering deploying teachers to work abroad to ease the growing unemployment problem.

This announcement follows a similar initiative by the Ministry of Trade, led by CS Alfred Mutua, aimed at facilitating employment opportunities for Kenyans in foreign countries. CS Ogamba explained that the government is working to position Kenya as an English-speaking nation to enhance the global employability of its professionals. Despite having the necessary qualifications, many teachers struggle to find jobs locally, leading to frustration among them.

So far, the government has only been able to announce 220,000 teaching positions, which falls short compared to the large pool of qualified teachers seeking employment in the country.