Those to be hired will be given a two-year contract. The Government plans to employ some 17,000 graduates from teacher training colleges next week as it seeks to ease the effects of the ongoing strike.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) on Tuesday also revealed that about 42,000 retired teachers were expected to register with educational offices in their areas and resume work immediately.
They will earn an amount equal to their last monthly pay when they left the service.
According to the TSC boss Gabriel Lengoiboni, they will replace striking teachers in all primary schools.
In Nairobi, director of city education Margaret Thiong'o held a meeting with officers from the three districts on how to implement the new guidelines by TSC.
Primary schools
She, however, told the Nation that their employer was yet to give them the official communication on how to go about recruiting the retired teachers.
Most of the primary schools within the city are managed by the Nairobi City Council, whose records indicate that they are 210. Ms Thiong'o said she expects to replace the bulk of the 4,200 primary school teachers within Nairobi.
There are about 180,000 teachers in more than 19,000 public primary schools countrywide.
Mr Lengoiboni said the pay roll department was compiling a list of striking teachers so that it can withhold their January pay. My staff will work overnight to process the staff attendance registers collected from all schools by Wednesday, he said.
This is a punitive measure as the teachers' salaries have already been budgeted for, said Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) secretary-general Lawrence Majali.
Ms Cecilia Luka, a graduate primary school teacher at St John's Kaloleni, also described the move as punitive.
Mr Patrick Muthuri, a teacher at Tharaka High School, termed the move a ploy by the Government to intimidate their primary school counter-parts.
An estimated 40,000 teachers from training colleges have not been employed by the Government. Mr Lengoiboni said that there were no funds to absorb all unemployed teachers.
The move to employ retired teachers was on Tuesday criticised by the National Association of Parents (Nap).
The retired teachers in most cases will have a challenge with the current curriculum, said Nap secretary- general Musau Ndunda.
Knut will on Wednesday meet the Parliamentary Committee on Education in a bid to mount pressure on the Government to accept their pay proposals and end the nationwide strike.
Central Organisation of Trade Unions secretary-general Francis Atwoli expressed support for the striking teachers and challenged the Government to address their issues in a better way.
Candidates
The Kenya Children's Parliament urged parties in the dispute to consider candidates sitting their national exams this year.
Through Junior President Anthony Kaguara, the children asked President Kibaki to intervene in the standoff and restore learning in public schools.
In Thika, Knut branch executive secretary Simon Kibugi said teachers should be ready to sacrifice their January pay if it will ensure that their demands are met. – Daily Nation
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