Why TSC will Employ Teachers On Contract Starting This Year
Senators are currently working to amend regulations that prevent the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) from hiring teachers on long-term internship periods.
The Senate National Cohesion Committee instructed TSC CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia to identify legal issues that need to be resolved in order to permit teachers to be employed on a contract basis (as an intern), arguing that doing so would allow the commission to hire more teachers with its constrained budgetary allocation.
The Senators proposed that teachers be hired on a contract rather than on permanent and pensionable (pnp) conditions in order to address a shortage that the TSC estimates to be 111,810.
In plain English, the Senators want the Commission to spend a modest budget to hire several instructors who will work as interns for many years without costing the government additional money for retirement benefits and pensions.
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Senators are unaware that this will ultimately have a negative impact on the education industry.
The root of all tragedies in our elementary, JSS, and secondary schools will be demotivated teachers who share a workplace with peers who earn more money than they do.
Intern teachers in primary schools receive a monthly remuneration of Ksh. 15,000; in senior schools, including junior secondary schools, they receive Ksh. 20,000.
The commission, according to Mrs. Macharia, cannot lawfully keep teachers on contract for an excessive amount of time; instead, after two years, their contracts would become permanent and pensionable.
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She added that the lack of a budget allocated for the effort prevents the Commission from hiring more teachers.
“Because we lack the funds, we’ve never had enough teachers. Provide the funding, and we’ll hire. stated Mrs. Macharia.
The committee was informed by Mrs. Macharia that the 36,000 newly hired teachers’ records are being worked on and that not all of them have yet been added to the payroll. Only 20,900 instructors’ records have been finalized thus far.
Inasin Gishu According to Senator Jackson Mandago, the Employment Act has to be changed to remove any remaining legal barriers to contractual hiring of teachers with specific payment and employment terms.
“Unions cannot hold us prisoner. Both children and unemployed Kenyans need to be educated, he said.
Mahvenda Gataya, a senator for Tharaka Nithi, stated that the idea to hire on a contract basis should be presented to the Cabinet for approval so that people who complete a set period of service are annually hired on a permanent basis.
Although the commission hired 36,000 new teachers earlier this year, according to Mrs. Macharia, there is still a shortfall of instructors in primary schools (47,339) and high schools (64,541).
She stated that in order to accomplish this, the commission needs a Shl4.8 billion annual budgetary commitment for teacher recruitment.
Mrs. Macharia disclosed last week that the 20,000 teachers hired in February for internship terms will not receive permanent employment with pension benefits until January 2025.
Why TSC will Employ Teachers On Contract Starting This Year
To boost enrollment at junior secondary schools (JSS), TSC wants to hire 20,000 extra teachers on contract in the fiscal year beginning in July, although the total will still be insufficient. The cost of hiring will be Sh4.7 billion.
According to Ms. Macharia, the commission would not have enough funds to hire the additional teachers required for JSS if the terms of employment were altered to permanent and pensionable.
She noted that teachers hired to replace those departing due to attrition will be hired on a permanent basis and be eligible for pensions.
