This blog was written by Lydia Namatende-Sakwa, African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.
In Kenya’s refugee camps and surrounding host communities, teacher wellbeing is increasingly shaped by the slow erosion of the systems that once sustained schools. Funding cuts, delayed capitation and the withdrawal of donor-supported programmes have become daily stressors for teachers working in some of the country’s most fragile education contexts.
This blog draws on qualitative findings from a teacher wellbeing study conducted by the TeachWell project in refugee camps and host communities in Garissa and Turkana counties in Kenya. Through interviews and focus group discussions with teachers, school leaders and education actors, the study documented how financial contraction across the education system is directly undermining teachers’ psychological safety, motivation and capacity to teach.
Capitation delays and the disruption of school operations
For many teachers and school leaders, uncertainty around government capitation grants has become a persistent source of stress. Without predictable funding, schools struggle to plan, pay support staff or maintain basic services, leaving teachers to absorb the emotional burden of explaining shortfalls to colleagues and communities: “The schools up to now haven’t received any funds, affecting the capitation… a whole term is ending without capitation” (Policy Actor, Garissa host community).
Another head teacher in Dadaab described the moral strain of managing unpaid staff: “We are even wondering, when month end comes what we will tell the workers, cooks, watchman” (Head of Institution, Dadaab camp, Garissa). For teachers, these delays translate into chronic anxiety, as school instability signals potential layoffs, heavier workloads or the loss of already-limited welfare support.
Food insecurity, emotional distress and learner dropout
The withdrawal of donor and NGO support, particularly USAID-funded programmes, was repeatedly cited as having immediate consequences for learners. Food assistance cuts in refugee camps emerged as a central driver of absenteeism, dropout and even reverse migration: “USAID has actually affected negatively… most of these learners pulled themselves and went back to the camp… they are telling me that food has gone down, that life has become unbearable in the camp” (Head of Institution, Turkana host community).
Teachers observed a direct relationship between food availability and attendance: “When there is food at least the population increases, when there is no food the population reduces” (Male Teacher, Turkana host community). Indeed, for many learners, school feeding programmes were not supplementary but essential.
Teachers repeatedly described the emotional toll of teaching hungry children while feeling powerless to intervene: “We have run out of food; the students have run out of food… it has made students not come to school” (Female Teacher, Turkana host community). Even where World Food Programme support existed, it was often unreliable: “Up to now we are going to week five… they have not supplied food… a hungry learner cannot learn anything” (Head of Institution, Garissa host community).
Teacher welfare, lay–offs and overwork
Across Garissa and Turkana, teachers consistently linked funding cuts to heightened job insecurity. Large-scale lay-offs, non-renewal of contracts and halted recruitment have created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty: “The whole of this year teachers have not been mentally stable in terms of job security” (Head of Institution, Kakuma camp, Turkana).
Funding cuts also eroded teacher welfare and staffing stability. Teachers described the loss of food rations, allowances and welfare support that had previously cushioned the harsh realities of teaching in arid and refugee-hosting areas: “All those entitlements which were really making teachers happy have been slashed” (Policy Actor, Turkana).
Staffing reductions compounded these challenges. Teachers were no longer replaced when they left, forcing remaining staff to absorb additional lessons and responsibilities: “Before, once a teacher resigned, immediately they used to replace another one. But that one is no longer there because of the budget… you find you are taking their lessons again adding to yours” (Male Teacher, Kakuma camp, Turkana).
Teachers also reported being required to cover roles previously held by support staff: “Teachers have more responsibilities… during lunch hour… now they are forced to support school feeding because the caretaker is not there” (NGO Officer, Kakuma camp, Turkana). This role overload reduced time for lesson preparation, recovery and peer support, which are core protective factors for teacher wellbeing.
At a system level, education actors described the scale of contraction as unprecedented: “We had 840 teachers in 2023, today we have 600… we laid off almost 200 teachers” (Policy Actor, Dadaab camp, Garissa).
Teachers described living with the constant possibility of termination: “You can wake up today and you are told, now this is the notice, go home” (Head of Institution, Kakuma camp, Turkana). For refugee teachers in particular, the psychosocial consequences were severe, as teaching often represents their only stable source of income and identity: “These are refugees… they don’t have any other place to earn” (Head of Institution, Kakuma camp, Turkana).
For refugee teachers with limited alternative livelihoods, the psychological toll was severe: “Most of our staff are stressed… they don’t have an assurance of having a job… these are refugees… they don’t have any other place to earn” (Head of Institution, Kakuma camp, Turkana).
Learning without materials in a competency-based system
The withdrawal of donor funding also triggered acute shortages of teaching and learning materials (textbooks, stationery, laboratory equipment and ICT tools), undermining instruction, particularly under Kenya’s Competency-Based Curriculum: “The US was funding things like assessments. But now… we would stay for the whole term without assessing learners” (Male Teacher, Turkana host community).
Teachers described competing for the few available textbooks: “I may be in need of a book, and maybe another teacher is using it… it is one, and it is being shared by many people” (Male Teacher, Kakuma camp, Turkana). In camp schools, textbook ratios deteriorated dramatically: “The books that we are expecting to reach 1 to 1 has gone to a ratio of 1 to even 50” (Head of Institution, Kakuma camp).
Resource scarcity not only constrained learners but also heightened teacher stress: “Something that needs to be implemented using a tablet and a tablet is not there… so that affects teachers” (Male Teacher, Kakuma camp, Turkana).
Training cancelled, support withdrawn
Funding contractions also led to the suspension of teacher training, coaching and school-based support and mentorship programmes previously supported by NGOs and donors – systems that teachers described as vital for morale and instructional quality: “We used to have a lot of trainings, but with the funding being cut, trainings have gone down. Meaning, the professional progression has also gone down” (Head of Institution, Kakuma camp, Turkana).
Reduced field visits and coaching meant fewer opportunities for emotional support, feedback and problem-solving: “The visits to school… we used to go every day… but now… reduced to three days a week. Teachers are not getting supported like they used to” (NGO Officer, Kakuma camp, Turkana). For teachers navigating the Competency-Based Curriculum reforms and Junior Secondary School transitions, the loss of professional support intensified stress and feelings of isolation.
The hidden cost: Teacher wellbeing
Across interviews and discussions, teachers repeatedly linked funding cuts to declining mental wellbeing, marked by anxiety, demotivation and uncertainty: “The whole of this year teachers have not been mentally stable in terms of job security” (Head of Institution, Kakuma camp, Turkana). As one teacher reflected, the inability to meet learners’ needs was itself a source of distress – highlighting how material deprivation, workload pressure and emotional labour intersect in fragile education settings.
Why teacher wellbeing matters
The TeachWell study underscores a critical insight: teacher wellbeing is foundational to education delivery. In refugee and host-community contexts, funding cuts reverberate through every layer of the eco-system, from infrastructure and staffing to learner attendance and classroom practice, shaping teachers’ emotional health, professional identity and capacity to sustain quality instruction. As Kenya advances inclusive education and Competency-Based Curriculum implementation, protecting teacher wellbeing must be treated as a policy priority. Without stable financing, predictable support and investment in teachers’ psychosocial needs, the cost of education system fragility will continue to be borne by teachers who are already operating at the margins.
