No Confirmation Of Intern Teachers, Recruitment of 20,000 Teachers

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi announced that the government lacks the funds to transition intern teachers to permanent and pensionable positions. He also stated that there are no resources available to hire an additional 20,000 intern teachers—18,000 for junior secondary schools (JSS) and 2,000 for primary schools.

This situation jeopardizes the Teachers Service Commission’s (TSC) plan to convert intern teachers to permanent staff by January 2025. Currently, TSC employs 46,000 intern teachers: 21,550 in junior schools, 4,000 in primary schools (hired in February 2023), 450 in secondary schools (hired in April 2023), and 20,000 (18,000 for junior schools, 2,000 for primary) recruited in September 2023.

Mbadi acknowledged that raising funds for teacher salary increases has been a significant challenge, citing a budget deficit that prevents addressing JSS teachers’ concerns. He noted a budget shortfall of Sh13 billion, stating that without budget adjustments, the government cannot fund permanent positions for JSS teachers or hire the additional 20,000 teachers previously estimated.

The government initially planned to employ the current intern teachers with a budget of Sh18.3 billion. However, the rejection of the Finance Bill 2024 has resulted in a budget gap of Sh346 billion. In June, the Court of Appeal halted plans to convert 46,000 intern teachers to permanent positions. This decision followed a ruling by the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) that had ordered TSC to make the conversions.

Until the case, which was filed by TSC, is resolved, JSS teachers will remain as interns. TSC argued that the ELRC ruling disrupted its plans, as it did not have the necessary budget to permanently hire the teachers. TSC lawyer Allan Sitima emphasized that this lack of funding risks violating students’ rights as guaranteed by Articles 43 and 53 of the Constitution, due to the Commission’s inability to permanently employ the 46,000 intern teachers.