The fate of 44,000 teachers recruited by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) hangs in the balance after the employer told Parliament that it may terminate their employment if the National Treasury does not allocate funds following a recent Court of Appeal ruling.
The teachers are majorly deployed in junior schools and such a move would leave the schools grossly under-staffed and affect learning in the segment that comprises Grade 7, 8 and 9 under the Competency-Based Education (CBE).
The TSC legal director Cavin Anyuor told the National Assembly Committee on Education that the commission only has the option of employing the teachers on permanent and pensionable terms or terminate their employment after the court declared the teacher internship programme discriminatory, unconstitutional, and illegal.
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 ruling was delivered on February 27, 2026. The Court of Appeal upheld an earlier decision by the Employment and Labour Relations Court declaring the TSC internship programme policy null and void. The intervention comes at a time when the interns renewed their contracts for another year, running from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2026.
“We are in court seeking a grace period to allow the government to organise itself, mobilise the necessary resources, and set clear timelines for implementation before pronouncing itself on the matter. We hope the court will grant us that grace period,” said Mr Anyuor when senior officials of the commission appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Education yesterday.
The commission introduced the programme in 2019 to plug staffing gaps in the service. The Kenya Kwanza regime has touted its mass teacher recruitment programme as one of its successes, but that would now change if the teachers are not converted to permanent and pensionable.
The teachers and teachers’ unions have termed the programme an abuse of labour since the teachers are paid a ‘stipend’ instead of a salary and do not enjoy all the other benefits other teachers enjoy.
The latest cohort of intern teachers, comprising 24,000 most of whom were posted to junior schools, was engaged in January this year, surpassing the TSC’s initial target of 20,000. The January recruitment largely focused on hiring science teachers, as the government sought to address an acute shortage of technical teachers in junior schools.
Mr Anyuor told the MPs that due to the profound effect of the court ruling, the commission has held a crisis meeting and that engagements to chart a way forward are at an advanced stage.
“The commission has also engaged with the government to chart the way forward to either take one of the options,” he said.
The chair of the committee, Julius Melly urged the TSC not to discontinue the internship programme, warning that doing so would render thousands of young Kenyans jobless and worsen inflationary pressures.
“The best thing you can do is to impress on the National Treasury for additional funding,” he said during consideration of the Supplementary Estimates 1 for the financial year 2025/2026.
Last week, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba told the Senate that the government intends to abide by the Court of Appeal decision, which rendered the teacher internship policy null and void.
“The court was unequivocal that recruiting trained and registered teachers as interns is illegal and discriminatory. What is the Ministry doing to ensure these teachers are absorbed on permanent and pensionable terms,” said Mr Ogamba. He was responding to Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua who raised concerns regarding the status of the educators.
“The Court of Appeal has determined that the policy of internship for teachers is null and void. As we speak, the TSC and the Ministry are studying the ruling to determine the steps required to ensure full compliance. We recognise there will be significant financial and budgetary implications,” the CS stated.
While the CS did not provide immediate timelines, he assured the House that the extent of the legal and financial burden is being calculated to allow for a smooth transition to the TSC payroll.
However, Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, accused the CS of being cagy regarding the exact costs of the absorption.
“The CS cannot say he wants to comply without telling us if they have requested funds in the supplementary budget. We need to know how much is required and how the transition will happen to ensure it is not done through political favoritism or discrimination,” Mr Cherargei argued.
About a fortnight ago, the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) warned that it would leverage legal instruments regarding the continued engagement of 44,000 intern teachers by TSC without confirmation.
Kuppet Secretary-General Akelo Misori and Chairman Omboko Milemba in Nairobi on August 15. Mr Milemba has warned of a teachers’ strike if interns are not absorbed unconditionally.
Photo credit: Lucy Wanjiru | Nation Media Group
Kuppet Secretary-General Akelo Misosi said it was unacceptable for the commission to engage the teachers as interns when they are registered professionals.
“We are giving TSC an ultimatum to style up, because soon we will adopt the legal framework to address this issue,” Mr Misori said.
