TSC asks Head Teachers, County Directors to renew contracts of interns to December 2025

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has asked school heads, County Officers and Principals to kick-start renewal of internship contract for primary and secondary school intern teachers.

The directive is contained in the latest memo to school heads. According to the memo, TSC says the offer of extension of internship contract is only for the willing teachers.

“You are advised to liase with the teachers serving as interns (Secondary, JSS and Primary) in your school and are willing to renew their contract for period 1st
January 2024 to 31st January 2025.” Reads the memo in part.

The Commission further asks the field officers to forward details of interns willing to renew their contracts.

“Forward their details using the attached
template and those willing to take up the offer are required to submit a copy of a
personal accident cover for the period of engagement to the TSC Sub-County
Director in person by tomorrow 7th December 2023 4.00 pm.” Directs the Commission.

This comes at a time when junior secondary school (JSS) intern teachers are engaged in Countrywide protests against renewal of the contracts.

In their petitions, the teachers currently serving on internship want TSC to convert their terms of employment to permanent and pensionable
terms saying serving internship for one year is enough.

Several Counties have had their interns going to the streets to protest the renewal.

The JSS protests are backed by KUPPET branches. Among other counties, the following branches have been vocal in raising the plight of interns: Nandi, Meru, Vihiga, Nyamira, Tharaka Nithi, Kisii, Migori, Kiambu and the capital city Nairobi.

Others are 𝚃𝚊𝚒𝚝𝚊 𝚃𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚝𝚊, Narok, Machakos, Makueni, Kisumu, West Pokot, Samburu, Kwale, Bomet and Baringo.

The Intern teachers currently serving in Junior Secondary Schools, JSS, are also calling for immediate movement of the institutions to nearby Secondary Schools. The JSS schools are currently domiciled in Primary schools.

The Commission is adamant that it will only employ intern teachers on permanent terms
after they serve for a two year internship period.

Appearing before the Senate Education Committee TSC CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia
also said they will start to renew the contract for the current serving intern
teachers in January 2024.

Macharia ruled out the possibility of converting the current 46,000 intern teachers
to permanent and pensionable (pnp) terms saying the Commission doesn’t have the budget.

“We don’t have money for employing them on permanent and pensionable basis,
if we’re given the money we’ll absorb them,” said Macharia.

She says the earliest the primary and secondary school intern teachers will be
absorbed into pnp payroll is 2025.

Macharia affirmed that all the 46,000 intern teachers serving in primary and secondary schools
will be converted to pnp in 2025 depending on the month they were first
recruited.

Macharia reiterated what TSC Director of Teachers Staffing Antonina Lentoijoni
said three weeks ago that the 46,000 teachers will have their terms of
employment automatically changed to pnp after two years of service.

“There are two sets of interns. There are those who started on February 1, and
those who began working on September 1. The ones we are talking about sending
letters of extension of contract for another one year in December are for those in
February,” Lentoijoni said when she appeared in Parliament; this month.

The Commission recruited 20,000 intern teachers in February this year (2023). This was followed up by another 20,000 interns in August.

In January 2022, TSC posted a total of 1,995 intern teachers to schools. TSC also
renewed internship contract for 4,005 teachers whose one year term ended in
December 2021.

This brought the total number of intern teachers to 46,000.
TSC plans to recruit another 20,000 intern teachers to help with Grade 8 class
which starts in January next year.

Interns attached to primary schools get a monthly stipend of Kshs. 15,000/= while
those in secondary schools get Kshs. 20,000/=.

However those in secondary school lose around sh. 3,0000 to deductions while
those in primary lose around sh. 2,000.

Kuppet is threatening to paralyze school operations in January if the current interns are not employed on permanent terms. The teachers’ union also wants JSS to be domiciled in nearby Secondary Schools that have adequate facilities.