TSC Requested to Hire Intern Teachers for Permanent and Pensionable Positions.
Education stakeholders pushed for the creation of an independent commission for teachers in order to draft a constitution that would address the issues faced by Kenyan educators.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) was given the authority to hire teachers of all grades and credentials under Article 237 of the 2010 constitution.
In order to reduce teachers’ workloads and improve the quality of teaching and learning, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has been leading the push for the government to hire more teachers.
This push is in line with the SDG 4 Agenda, which calls for accessible, affordable, and high-quality education by 2030.
Free Primary Education (FPE) in 2003 and Free Day Secondary Education, in addition to the 100 percent transition policy, caused a spike in student enrolment that put strain on the number of teachers, school facilities, and instructional resources.
In order to alleviate the ensuing shortfall, KNUT pushed for teacher employment, which ultimately resulted in industrial unrest and a memorandum of understanding for the hiring of teachers on a contract basis in 2010.
Originally intended to be a temporary remedy, this contractual employment was eventually included in the 2015 revision to the code of regulations, which raised questions over compliance with laws of the International Labor Organization.
By hiring instructors as term interns, particularly for the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), the TSC carried on this practice.
The commission has not communicated with instructors whose contracts are about to expire, including 20,000 JSS intern teachers.
This creates uncertainty. KNUT claims that in the ongoing revision of the code of regulations, clauses 56 and 58 should be removed because they are against international labor laws and agreements.
In order to give these teachers preference when new teachers are expected to be hired in 2024, the union suggests changing these teachers to permanent and pensionable status.
KNUT calls on the commission to take into account measures that instill trust and faith in workers, highlighting the role of companies as protectors of employees.
The union promises to fight for equitable treatment of teachers who are leaving these contractual jobs.
Make sure that teachers under contract are hired on a permanent basis.
