TSC threatens to sack intern teachers

TSC threatens to sack intern teachers

TSC threatens to sack intern teachers

Now that classes have resumed for the second term, the instructors’ employer has threatened to fire intern teachers who have not shown up for work.

In order to determine appropriate disciplinary action for individuals who have skipped work, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) said that it will receive attendance data from all schools on Friday.

TSC Legal Affairs director Cavin Anyuor stated during his appearance before the National Assembly Education Committee that the attendance records gathered by school administrators will serve as the basis for the disciplinary action. He stated that on Friday, May 17, the records will be received at the TSC headquarters.

This comes days after intern teachers threatened to refuse to leave their positions despite orders from their employers to return to the classroom. With the encouragement of the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), the educators made grandiose plans to step up their protests the next week.

The Kenya Junior Secondary Teachers Association’s secretary-general, Daniel Murithi, stated that the TSC’s request that they return to work will not weaken their commitment.

“TSC has received reports that the majority of you are not returning to school, as evidenced by their response asking you to do so. Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t replace 46,000 instructors, as seen by their appeal for you to return, Murithi stated on Wednesday.

The back and forth between the JSS teachers and TSC comes after an April labor court decision that declared the internship program unlawful due to unequal compensation for equivalent work. But until August 1st, a stay order permitted the TSC to keep hiring interns.

But TSC now says it will only negotiate with the interns should they lose the appeal to overturn the illegality ruling.

Further complicating the situation is a budget shortfall, the commission claims it lacks Sh30 billion needed to permanently employ all intern teachers.

It proposes a phased approach, absorbing only 26,000 interns in January 2025 and will need Sh8.3 billion for the absorption of the first cohort alone.

This comes after a faction of the nearly 60,000 intern teachers on Monday boycotted teaching when schools reopened for second term demanding enhanced pay and conversion of their intern contracts to permanent and pensionable.

Anyuor said the commission will take appropriate action in line with stay orders on a ruling that found the employment of the intern teachers illegal.

The commission is informed that certain interns are participating in picketing. Since May 13, when classes resumed, the commission has ordered that data be gathered by this Friday. This way, we will be able to determine who is in class and who is not, and the teacher’s code of conduct provisions will be implemented accordingly, Anyuor stated.

In an appearance before the National Assembly Committee on Education on Wednesday, he offered his opinions on the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year (2024–2025).

Clive Gisairo, the MP for Kitutu Masaba, challenged the commission to provide an explanation for what would happen to JSS and the internship program if the court upheld the judgment prohibiting it.

In a concession, TSC says that in the event that the interns’ legal challenge to the program’s legitimacy is unsuccessful, it is prepared to engage in negotiations with them.

After ruling in April that the teacher internship program was unlawful, the Labour Relations Court put a stop to any further proceedings until August 1. Thus, TSC may keep using the interns until August 1 without any restrictions.

“We will negotiate with these teachers to come to an understanding so that their conversion to permanent and pensionable can start in January 2025,” Anyuor stated in the event that the stay (on the court decision prohibiting the hiring of intern teachers) is lifted.

This is even though it has come to light that the TSC needs Sh30 billion in order to pay all of the interns. Nonetheless, TSC claims that after successfully filling the position for two years, it would hire 26,000 interns in January. Anyuor stated that they will require Sh8.3 billion for this.

On Wednesday, however, a few lawmakers backed the intern teachers who are asking to be hired on an improved contract in July.