TSC: JSS Interns To Serve For 3 Years Before Permanent Employment
The 20,000 teachers hired in February under contract terms will not receive permanent employment with pension benefits until January 2025, according to Nancy Macharia, the TSC’s CEO, in a statement before the National Assembly’s Education Committee yesterday.
To boost enrollment at junior secondary schools (JSS), TSC wants to hire 20,000 extra teachers on contract in the fiscal year beginning in July, although the total will still be insufficient. The cost of hiring will be Sh4.7 billion.
According to Ms. Macharia, the commission would not have enough funds to hire the additional teachers required for JSS if the terms of employment were altered to permanent and pensionable.
She noted that teachers hired to replace those who have left the service due to Natural attrition will be hired on a permanent basis and be eligible for pensions.
She was submitting suggestions for revenue and expense projections for the fiscal year 2023–2024.
The CEO stated that the qualified teachers under contract are committed to maintaining the caliber of instruction. The TSC has been given Sh322 billion in the budget policy statement for 2023–2024.
In 2019, TSC began hiring teachers on a contract; they are referred to as trainees.
They typically receive preference and receive higher ratings than candidates who are not on the program when hiring permanent and pensionable teachers.
Primary school interns are given a “stipend” of Sh15,000, while secondary school interns are given a’stipend’ of Sh20,000.
Despite the lack of employees in schools, there are over 300,000 unemployed teachers based on the number of instructors who apply for employment when they are advertised.
Ms. Macharia acknowledged that around half of the teachers posted to JSS had not yet received payment, but she blamed the delay on the teachers’ schools for sending in their reports later than expected because not all of them reported at the same time.
The head of the TSC claimed that in order to advance teachers who have been stuck in the same grades for a while, the commission needs Sh2.2 billion.
The budget estimates make no mention of a new teacher compensation arrangement.
The non-monetary collective bargaining agreement that the unions and the company agreed to in 2021 has been called for renegotiation.
However, the commission has set aside Sh6 billion for annual wage increases and joint cadre promotions. Julius Melly, the chair of the commission, ordered TSC to develop a precise formula for calculating the number of instructors required for JSS.
Within two fiscal years, the Kwanza administration, which is now in power in Kenya, promised to hire 116,000 teachers.
To ensure that the government gets value for money, Mr. Melly also advocated for adequate teacher oversight.
According to Ms. Macharia’s submission, TSC needs Sh300 million to fund its initiatives at the county and sub-county levels.
The execution of Teacher Performance Appraisal and Development as well as the implementation and oversight of performance contracts depend heavily on TSC’s county and sub-county offices, according to Ms. Macharia.
They significantly contribute to the prompt resolution of open disciplinary matters and the application of teaching standards, she continued.
A Sh2.1 billion proposal to fund the Professional Teacher Development program was made, but it was not taken into consideration, according to TSC filings.
Teachers were meant to pay for the training when the program was first implemented, but the unions have been clamoring for the TSC to pick up the tab. The commission, according to Ms. Macharia, had no unpaid invoices, no halted projects, and no new projects budgeted.
TSC: JSS Interns To Serve For 3 Years Before Permanent Employment
