P1 Teachers To Teach JSS to terminate Intern contract
P1 Teachers To Teach JSS to terminate Intern contract
Dealing with the fallout from a court ruling that stopped 21,500 junior school intern teachers’ contracts from being terminated, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is facing a dilemma.
As a reaction to this legal setback, the TSC has developed a plan that involves using primary school teachers to teach students in grades 7 and 8.
Despite this, head teachers of elementary schools have attested to have received instructions to guarantee that junior school instruction continues smoothly at the return of classes.
Currently, 7,400 junior school instructors were originally assigned from primary schools in March of this year.
But in order to meet the academic needs of students in Grade 8, the TSC is now waiting on funding to start hiring more junior school instructors.
The situation is made more urgent by the fact that elementary and secondary schools are scheduled to return on January 8, 2023, according to the Ministry of Education’s timetable.
It’s important to note that the TSC and junior school intern instructors are now embroiled in a legal battle over the specifics of their internship agreements.
The intern teachers have voiced their displeasure and, in conjunction with the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), are considering going on strike when classes resume in January.
The TSC’s suggestion that intern teachers extend their internship contracts with the hope of permanent confirmation following a two-year term is the source of dispute.
The intern teachers, on the other hand, fiercely disagree with this idea and demand that, following their one-year internship, they be confirmed to permanent and pensionable positions.
President William Ruto recently weighed in on the matter, announcing a governmental shift in policy where internships will now span two years. He assured junior school intern teachers of employment once they complete the two-year contract.
However, the teachers argue that the initial agreement was a one-year non-renewable contract as interns before transitioning to permanent jobs.
After the disagreement turned into a lawsuit, Justice Byram Ongaya issued an injunction prohibiting the TSC from canceling the contracts of the 21,500 junior school intern instructors.
Any attempt to end internships that were scheduled to end on December 31, 2023 is thwarted by this order, which is in effect until the lawsuit is heard and decided.
The fact that TSC intends to appeal this court judgment highlights the complicated issues that the education sector is facing and highlights the possibility of interruption to learning in the future year.
