TSC & Kuppet lock horns over intern teachers
TSC & Kuppet lock horns over intern teachers
Teachers and stakeholders keenly monitored the activities on the 5th World Teachers’ Day at the Kenya School for Government, according to a Standard story by Denish Ochieng. Regarding the terms of contract tutors, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) cannot agree. The union has taken issue with recent remarks made by TSC, claiming that contract teachers will stay in their current roles for an additional year before having their terms of service reviewed.
TSC informed Members of Parliament last week that intern teachers must wait an additional year before the government confirms their permanent and pensionable status. Antonina Lentoijoni, TSC Director of Teachers Staffing, explained that the terms of employment for 46,000 teachers would automatically shift to permanent and pensionable after two years of service. She specified that extension letters for another year of contract would be sent in December, referring to those who started in February.
Speaking before the National Assembly Education Committee, which was led by Tinderet MP Julius Melly, Lentoijoni explained that there were two groups of interns, with a focus on those who started in February.
In response, Kuppet insisted that TSC must adhere to its initial commitment and absorb teachers into permanent and pensionable status immediately upon the expiration of their first-year term. Secretary General Akelo Misori argued that the proposed delay for teachers serving on internship contracts in primary and Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) would demoralize them.
Misori argued that TSC had not made any action to hire them permanently after their current contract expires in January 2024, despite the contract’s provision for a one-year internship. He acknowledged the teachers’ tenacity in the face of obstacles like the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) shift and commended their patriotism.
Kuppet noted that these teachers receive pitiful pay, but they also have to deal with taxes and statutory deductions much like their counterparts in the armedy forces. Misori drew attention to the depressing circumstances in which educators are paid only half of what they are entitled to, are required to participate in mandated programs, and pay the same taxes without receiving commensurate benefits. For JSS teachers working under primary school heads, the situation is more difficult because, in many cases, the primary schools do not provide enough resources for them to buy their teaching equipment.
