Junior Secondary School teachers hired in January 2023 can now breathe a sigh of relief after the National Assembly intervened to secure their employment on permanent and pensionable (P and P) terms.
The 26,000 teachers from the first batch of the JSS internship program will be employed on P and P terms starting July 1st.
These intern teachers had been holding demonstrations to push for permanent positions, as they were initially scheduled to be confirmed in January 2025, according to earlier communications from the Teachers Service Commission and President William Ruto.
Most of them currently have internship contracts running until January 2025.
On Monday, Julius Melly, the chair of the education committee, informed the Budget and Appropriations Committee that Sh8.3 billion has been allocated for their employment.
“The Teachers Service Commission should streamline the recruitment process to ensure that resources allocated to this function are utilised fully at the beginning of the next financial year,” Melly told the budget committee.
“The commission should convert the 26,000 intern teachers to P and P terms beginning July 2024 and January 2025 as earlier indicated.”
Teaching at Junior Secondary Schools nationwide had been paralyzed after intern teachers went on strike, demanding permanent and pensionable (P and P) terms.
Some of these teachers received show cause letters for their absence, with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) arguing that the court order issued in favor of the JSS interns was stayed until August 1, 2024.
On April 17, Justice Bryrum Ongaya of the Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled that the TSC violated the intern teachers’ right to fair labor practice, noting that they are qualified and hold teaching licenses.
“The respondents have not exhibited statutory regulatory or policy arrangements that would entitle the first respondent (TSC) to employ interns,” Ongaya said in the ruling.
“Ideally, the first respondent should employ registered teachers on terms that are not discriminatory and to meet the optimal staffing needs in public schools,” the ruling said.
The ruling was issued after the Forum for Good Governance and Human Rights petitioned the court, challenging the Teacher Internship Programme.
This program, which began in 2019, pays secondary school teachers Sh20,000 and primary school teachers Sh15,000. During their demonstrations, the JSS interns argued that these amounts were insufficient to sustain their livelihoods.
