TSC Intern Teachers Get Additional Salary Deductions.
Intern teachers employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) are raising objections to recent deductions from their pay made by their employer through the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
The deductions, which include contributions to the housing fund for unpaid rent from July, have put a financial hardship on many intern instructors.
This is the second time that intern instructors have experienced further deductions from their salaries without a proportional increase.
Their salaries were cut by Ksh. 360 in July of this year, and Ksh. 360 went to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). A 1.5% deduction from their total stipends is shown on their most recent payslip and is designated for the housing fund.
These deductions leave primary intern teachers, who typically receive a monthly stipend of Ksh. 15,000, with about Ksh. 14,000 left over. After these deductions, junior secondary employees with a monthly pay of Ksh 20,000 often receive Ksh 18,000 or so.
Primary intern teachers only received Ksh. 12,570 in the most recent payment, compared to Ksh. 17,570 for their junior secondary counterparts. These sums are far less than what they are used to making.
The poor salary, which does not keep pace with the current inflation and cost of living, is the key reason why this most recent development might deter more teachers from pursuing internships in the future.
Due to the meager pay, many teachers have been completely skipping internships. Most choose Board of Management (BOM) jobs instead, especially in institutions that provide better salaries and more welfare support.
Intern instructors did not receive comparable wage reviews, but their colleagues on permanent contracts did.
Initiated by the commission, the placement of 20,000 newly hired teacher interns in classrooms has already begun. To help with the implementation of the new curriculum, 18,000 of these people will be placed in junior secondary schools, while the remaining 2,000 will be sent to primary schools.
Knut, Kuppet, and Kusnet, three teacher unions, were unable to protect intern teachers from these additional deductions. They also failed to successfully negotiate a change to the interns’ stipends.
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