Ruto Finally Affirms Permanent Jobs for Intern Teachers

Ruto Finally Affirms Permanent Jobs for Intern Teachers

President William Ruto has confirmed that the planned conversion of 46,000 junior secondary school intern teachers to permanent positions is progressing as planned.

Speaking on Friday, the President acknowledged the budget shortfall caused by the fall of the Finance Bill 2024, which was intended to support the 2024/2025 budget. Despite this setback, the government is seeking alternative funding to hire the teachers.

President Ruto called for patience from the intern teachers as the government sources funds for their employment. Initially, the administration had allocated Sh18.3 billion for this purpose.

The rejection of the Finance Bill has created a budget gap of Sh346 billion. However, Ruto stated that the government would borrow Sh169 billion and rationalize its budget to accommodate the teachers as promised.

Addressing the nation from State House, Ruto explained that extensive consultations had taken place to balance borrowing with austerity measures. The Finance Bill was withdrawn after public outcry and protests, prompting the government to propose budget cuts of Sh177 billion and borrow the difference.

Ruto noted that borrowing would increase the budget deficit from 3.3% to 4.6% of GDP, still lower than the previous year.

Following a Parliamentary Group Meeting by the ruling Kenya Kwanza coalition on June 18, National Assembly Finance Committee Chair Kimani Kuria confirmed that adequate funds—KSh18 billion—had been allocated for the employment of the 46,000 junior secondary teachers currently on internships.

Additionally, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) plans to hire 20,000 interns next month to address the teacher shortage in junior schools as the pioneer class moves to Grade 9 in January 2025.

However, the Sh18 billion may be insufficient to employ all the interns, as TSC requires Sh30 billion to hire all 46,000 interns on permanent terms by July 1, 2024. Consequently, TSC may need to employ a portion of the interns first, with the remainder awaiting additional funding.

The internship program, which began in 2019, pays secondary school interns Sh20,000 and primary school interns Sh15,000. During demonstrations, the junior secondary school interns argued that these amounts were inadequate to sustain their livelihoods.

In February 2023, TSC hired 21,550 junior school and 4,000 primary school intern instructors. In April 2023, 450 secondary school intern instructors were hired, and in September 2023, 18,000 junior school and 2,000 primary school intern instructors were hired.

Ruto Finally Affirms Permanent Jobs for Intern Teachers