Learning in public junior schools across the country is set to face severe disruption starting next week after about 20,000 intern teachers announced weekly demonstrations to demand permanent employment.
The teachers are calling for immediate absorption into permanent and pensionable terms, rejecting a government plan to delay their confirmation until 2027.
The interns, whose contracts were recently extended by another 12 months, will be joined by 46,000 Junior School (JS) teachers in solidarity - a move that could paralyse learning for more than a million pupils nationwide.
Kenya Junior School Teachers Association (Kejusta) chairperson James Odhiambo confirmed that the protests will be held every Tuesday morning until the government acts.
“Our demand is for the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to implement the transition from internship to permanent and pensionable employment,” Mr Odhiambo said.
Teachers awaiting confirmation
“We want to remind the government, the Teachers Service Commission and, most importantly, the President, to be truthful. The State must stop playing politics with education,” he added.
The association has also disputed recruitment figures frequently cited by President William Ruto. While the President has claimed that 72,000 teachers have been employed, Kejusta insists that only 56,000 have been absorbed, with another 20,000 still serving as interns.
Junior Secondary School teachers from Nairobi County stage a procession to the Teachers Service Commission offices on May 13, 2024.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
“He needs to be factual. Internship programmes should last one year or be discontinued altogether. Equal work deserves equal pay,” Mr Odhiambo said.
He added that thousands of teachers awaiting confirmation are demoralised, warning that protests would be sustained.
“Every Tuesday we will take to the streets. We want the government, TSC and President Ruto to listen and act,” he said.
President Ruto has previously defended the internship programme, describing it as a practical approach to gradually absorb over 300,000 unemployed trained teachers.
“I want to assure every intern that after two years they will be automatically absorbed. That is the plan,” the President said earlier, noting that the model allows the government to meet staffing needs while creating employment pathways.
Tensions escalated last week after the government formally deferred the absorption of junior school interns to 1 January 2027 - the same year Kenya is scheduled to hold the next general election. Mr Odhiambo said the timing had raised suspicion among teachers.
Permanent and pensionable terms
Basic Education Principal Secretary Prof Julius Bitok said the policy requires interns to serve two years before qualifying for permanent and pensionable terms.
“President Ruto directed that interns who had completed one year be given a second-year contract, and that resources be provided in the next financial year for their confirmation on 1 January 2027,” Prof Bitok said three days ago.
Junior Secondary School teachers during a past protest in Kakamega town to demand better terms of employment for interns.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The National Treasury is expected to allocate funds for the mass confirmation in the July 2026 budget.
Currently, junior school interns earn Sh20,000 per month before statutory deductions - an amount Kejusta says has dealt a serious blow to teacher morale.
Despite growing calls for a separate union for junior school teachers, Kejusta has urged the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) to support the planned protests.
“We are still members of Kuppet and deserve representation from the union we fund. They must join us in this fight,” Mr Odhiambo said, while accusing the union of failing to adequately protect teachers’ interests.
