Good news for intern teachers as 20,000 jobs are up for grabs

Good news for intern teachers as 20,000 jobs are up for grabs

Good news for intern teachers as 20,000 jobs are up for grabs

Starting in July, at least 20,000 intern teachers will now be hired on a permanent basis.

At a Kenya Kwanza parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday at State House, the ruling coalition announced that funding had been allocated to accommodate the teachers starting next month.

When the pioneer class moves into Grade 9 in January of the following year, the teachers will play a crucial role in carrying out instruction in junior secondary schools.

Additionally, the Kenya Kwanza parliamentary group was notified that Sh18 billion had been allocated for the internship employment of all junior secondary teachers.

This comes after a dispute about the instructors’ employment status erupted between the instructors Service Commission, their employer, and the teachers. After months of a stalemate, a walkout, layoffs, and even an ongoing legal dispute between the interns and the employer, funds are now being allocated for the intern teachers’ employment.

The Teachers Service Commission stated in a May appearance before Parliament that it will take Sh30 billion to convert all intern contracts to permanent, pensionable terms.

TSC attempted to hire the teachers in two phases, with the first batch consisting of 26,000 teachers and the second recruiting group consisting of the remaining 20,000 teachers, due to budgetary constraints.

The instructors Service Commission (TSC) estimated that it would cost Sh6.6 billion to convert intern positions to permanent employment for the first cohort of 26,000 instructors.

This now means that the Sh18 billion will be sufficient to successfully hire the first cohort of 26,000 interns in permanent and pensionable terms.

As a result, the fate of another 20,000 interns will remain uncertain with as funds are not appropriated in the 2024/2025 budget.

Concerns over hiring teachers on an internship basis have resulted in a walkout, a standoff, layoffs, and even a legal lawsuit that is still pending between TSC and the interns.

The interns contend that because they perform the same tasks as their colleagues on a permanent and pensionable basis but receive much less compensation, they are victims of unfair labor practices.

The Employment and Labour Relations Court agreed with the interns that hiring tutors on an intern basis was an unfair labor practice, and in April, it stopped tutors’ employment.

But the teachers’ employer contested the decision by Justice Bryum Ongaya at the Court of Appeal and got a reprieve recently.The court’s three judges said the hiring of teachers in internship positions be stopped until an appeal is heard and determined.

But the teachers’ employer contested the decision by Justice Bryum Ongaya at the Court of Appeal and got a reprieve recently.

The court’s three judges said the hiring of teachers in internship positions be stopped until an appeal is heard and determined. 

This implies that TSC has the last laugh because the irate educators will have to stay on as interns until the Dr. Nancy Macharia-led commission’s case is heard and decided.

According to TSC’s application, the directives issued by Justice Ongaya had caused operational chaos because the funds needed to hire the intern teachers on permanent and pensionable terms had not been budgeted for.