TSC To Pay Full Salary For Period Served After Court Declares Intern Teacher Posting to JSS is Illegal
Intern teacher posting to Junior School (JSS) by the Teachers Service Commission has been declared illegal by Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC).
This means that nearly 60,000 teachers hired by the Teachers Service Commission as interns may force their employer to pay them full salary for the period served.
The ruling emerged on Wednesday April 17, after ELRC found the commission violated right of these teachers to fair labour practice by giving them internship positions while they were qualified and possess teaching licences.
The intern teachers have been the backbone of the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum at the Junior Secondary School.
Justice Byrum Ongaya held in his decision that the commission’s authority is restricted to hiring only individuals who are competent and registered, so it is not permitted to engage or hire interns or student teachers.
“The first respondent (TSC) would be entitled to hire interns if the respondents had demonstrated statutory regulatory or policy arrangements.” In order to meet the best staffing needs in public schools, the first respondent should ideally hire registered instructors on nondiscriminatory terms, according to Justice Ongaya.
In addition to being a crash program designed to supply instructors for junior secondary schools, the initiative was launched to address the teacher shortage that was plaguing schools.
But the decision now adds to the list of issues plaguing the internship program, such as significant resistance to the continuation of the program.
Intern teacher posting to JSS
The original plan was for the internship program to last for a year, after which the interns would be hired on a permanent and pensionable basis.
But before the instructors can be given consideration for permanent and pensionable employment, President William Ruto declared in December that they would need to serve an additional year.
The interns were given contracts by TSC to teach two topics, as the court heard the case. But in the classroom, everything was covered, including arithmetic and science.
Those who were employed were also resentful that some of their colleagues had been hired on permanent and pensionable conditions, while they had been retained under the terms of college and university instructors who are placed in schools to gain teaching experience.
There were claims that despite the tutors getting an ‘intern stipend’ TSC deducted all taxes and contributions required by the government, including the controversial housing levy.
Intern teacher posting to JSS
The case was filed by the Forum for Good Governance and Human Rights on behalf of the interns. It indicated that those hired were not supervised but left to grapple with all subjects on their own.
“The second respondent is handling the lives and rights of the children casually as test guinea pigs to confirm whether the CBC, can work. I state this is indeed a worrying state,” the court heard.
One of the affected teachers filed an affidavit in support of the case. Oroso Oganga narrated that he was sent to Eking Narok Primary School in Kajiado County.
According to his degree, he earned a Bachelor of Education (Arts) degree. He said that it was stipulated in his contract with TSC that he was only allowed to teach history or Christian religious instruction.
He did, however, add that he ended up teaching computer science, integrated science, social studies, CRE, health education, and life skills when he reported at the school on February 7, 2023.
He claimed that he was also in charge of the class’s management and administration. Oroso said that he received a Sh20,000 payment to take home despite working nonstop.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) celebrated the court decision on Wednesday, calling it a major win for student teachers. The decision opens the door for the interns to maybe be hired on as permanent employees.
Collins Oyuu, the secretary-general of KNUT, voiced concerns regarding the internship program and said it was unjust to consider instructors who were fully certified as trainees.
“We genuinely support the temporary solution, but the intern problem has been a sore spot. It is wise that these teachers become permanent employees with pensions, especially those who have completed a full year of internships,” Mr. Oyuu stated.
Intern teacher posting to JSS
In order to secure financing for the permanent and pensionable hiring of the intern teachers, he has requested TSC to press Parliament on their behalf.
CEO and Secretary General of TSC Nancy Macharia additionally disclosed in February that 20,000 additional interns would be hired in July.
