State urged to look into issues raised by intern teachers
Junior Secondary School teachers hold a protest match along the streets of Kakamega town on Tuesday last week calling for interns to be employed on permanent and pensionable terms.
What you need to know:
- First cohort of interns have had their contracts renewed for one year from February this year.
- President William Ruto has stated that his administration has employed 56,000 teachers.
As the nationwide work boycott staged by the 46,000 Junior Secondary School (JSS) intern teachers enters its second week today, unions have rallied behind the teachers while calling on the government to find an amicable way out of the stalemate.
Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary-General Collins Oyuu and his Kenya Union of Post Primary Education (Kuppet) counterpart Akelo Misori have warned that the strike risked paralysing learning in Grades Seven and Eight.
While interns posted to regular primary schools earn Sh15,000, those in JSS are paid Sh20,000 , which they say is too little.
A JSS teacher newly employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is paid Sh34,955 a month alongside a commuter allowance of Sh5,000, a house allowance ranging between Sh16,000 and Sh8,133 depending on the work station, and a hardship allowance where applicable.
“The employment of teachers as interns should have not taken place and we are in agreement with the High Court that [the arrangement] should be scrapped and the teachers hired on permanent and pensionable terms,” Mr Oyuu said in Nyeri County at the weekend.
He urged MPs and education stakeholders to address the issue and end the impasse for the benefit of both teachers and the learners.
Mr Malel Langat, the Knut first national vice-chairman, said TSC and the Ministry of Education should address the issues raised by the teachers and trade unions.
“The intern teachers take home peanuts (Sh13,000 after deductions) while their workload is the same as that of their colleagues employed on permanent and pensionable terms,” Mr Langat said.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court has ordered that the terms for teachers serving on contracts remain in force till August 1, 2024. Justice Bryam Ongaya in an April 17, 2024 ruing said the TSC had violated the rights of the intern teachers to fair labour practices.
He said the TSC should employ teachers on terms that are not discriminatory and those serving on contracts should be confirmed on permanent and pensionable terms.
The first cohort of interns have had their contracts renewed for one year from February this year while the second lot is still serving their one year term.
“Kuppet is ready to work with the National Treasury, the TSC, the National Assembly and the Ministry of Education to find a solution to the issue,” Mr Misori said.
Mr Ronald Tonui, the Kuppet assistant treasurer, Mr Henry Obwocha the secretary in charge of secondary schools and branch secretaries Mary Rotich (Kericho), Charles Ngeno (Narok), Paul Kimetto (Bomet) separately said the government should act on the matter and bring the strike to an end.
“Parliament should set aside adequate funds to employ the intern teachers who are already engaged by the government, besides the others who are taken on board annually,” Mr Tonui said.
Mr Obwocha accused the TSC of lacking “goodwill to address the matter once and for all.”
“We have had demonstrations at the county headquarters in the 47 counties in the past week, but we are changing tack this week by cascading it down to the sub-counties,” Mr Ngeno said in Narok on Sunday.
TSC chairman Jamleck Muturi had in a statement issued on Tuesday last week called on the interns “to obey the court order and go back to school”.
President William Ruto has stated that his administration has employed 56,000 teachers and another 20,000 are expected to be employed this year as the government seeks to bridge the teacher-student ratio in learning institutions.
