The teachers’ employer has now threatened to sack intern teachers who have failed to report to work since schools reopened for the second term.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) said it will on Friday May 17 get attendance reports from all schools to inform disciplinary action against those who absconded duty.
The development comes days after intern teachers vowed to stay put even as their employer directed them to go back to class.
The back and forth between TSC and JSS teachers follows a labour court ruling in April that deemed the internship programme as illegal because of unequal pay for equal work. However, a stay order allowed the TSC to continue employing interns until August 1.
TSC now says it will only negotiate with the interns should they lose the appeal to overturn the illegality ruling.
Further complicating the situation is a budget shortfall, the commission claims it lacks Sh30 billion needed to permanently employ all intern teachers.
