TSC to Employ 26,000 Interns On Permanent Terms
The intern teachers in primary and Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) in Kenya can look forward to job security, as 26,000 of them will be employed on permanent and pensionable terms starting January 2025. This transition will cost KSh 8.3 billion. The National Treasury has allocated KSh 364.910 billion to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for the Financial Year 2024/2025, enabling it to carry out its functions.
The 2024 Budget Policy Statement initially approved KSh 369.9 billion for the TSC, but the draft budget estimates for 2024/25 show a slight reduction to KSh 364.910 billion. This reflects a decrease of KSh 5.033 billion in recurrent expenditure and KSh 33 million in development expenditure.
This funding news arrives amid ongoing protests by JSS intern teachers, who are demanding permanent employment following a ruling by the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC). The court found that their labor rights were violated by being employed as interns rather than on permanent and pensionable terms. The teachers have refused to return to classrooms as the second term begins.
Currently, JSS intern teachers work on one-year contracts, earning KSh 15,000 if posted in primary schools and KSh 20,000 in JSS. To address the teacher shortage, TSC plans to recruit an additional 20,000 interns in primary and JSS schools, allocating KSh 4.68 billion for this recruitment effort.
Furthermore, TSC has announced plans to spend KSh 1 billion on teacher promotions. This amount is consistent with the current expenditure, which recently saw the promotion of 36,505 teachers to higher grades in accordance with the Career Progression Guidelines (CPG). These promotions were given to teachers who had been stagnant in the same job group for years, thereby improving their career prospects and morale.
Overall, the budgetary allocations and planned recruitments underscore the government’s commitment to enhancing the education sector by addressing teacher shortages and improving employment conditions for educators.
TSC to Employ 26,000 Interns On Permanent Terms
