Big Win: JSS Intern Teachers Set For Permanent Job
JSS intern teachers employed in junior secondary schools in January 2023 can finally sigh with ease because the National Assembly stepped in to ensure they absorbed on permanent and pensionable (P and P) terms.
Starting on July 1st, the 26,000 instructors hired in the JSS internship program’s initial batch will be employed on Pand P terms.
According to an earlier statement from President William Ruto and the Teachers Service Commission, the intern teachers who have been organizing protests to support the P and P periods were expected to be confirmed in January 2025.
However, the Budget and Appropriations Committee was informed on Monday by Julius Melly, the chair of the education committee, that Sh8.3 billion had been set aside for their employment.
Big Win: JSS Intern Teachers Set For Permanent Job
“The Teachers Service Commission should streamline the recruitment process to ensure that resources allocated to this function are utilised fully at the beginning of the next financial year,” Melly stated to the budget committee.
“The commission should convert the 26,000 intern teachers to P and P terms beginning July 2024 and January 2025 as earlier indicated.”
After intern instructors withdrew their tools and demanded P and P periods, junior secondary schools across the nation experienced a paralysis in instruction.
Some of them claim that the court order that was previously obtained in favor of the JSS interns was delayed until August 1, 2024, and they have already received show cause letters for missing work with TSC.
Because the intern instructors are qualified and hold teaching licenses, Justice Bryrum Ongaya of the Employment and Labour Relations Court concluded on April 17 that TSC had breached their right to fair labor practices.
Big Win: JSS Intern Teachers Set For Permanent Job
In the decision, Ongaya stated that “the respondents have not exhibited statutory regulatory or policy arrangements that would entitle the first respondent (TSC) to employ interns.”
“Ideally, the first respondent should hire registered teachers on nondiscriminatory terms and to satisfy public school staffing needs as best as possible,” the verdict stated.
The Court’s decision was reached following a petition filed by the Forum for Good Governance and Human Rights, which contested the Teacher Internship Program.
Big Win: JSS Intern Teachers Set For Permanent Job
When the internship program started in 2019, primary teachers received Sh15,000 while secondary teachers were paid Sh20,000.
During their demonstrations, the JSS interns contended that the funding was insufficient to support their way of life.
