Internship just the tip of the iceberg, say striking junior school teachers

Nairobi JS teachers demonstrate outside Parliament demanding absorption into permanent and pensionable employment, April 27, 2026. DOUGLAS OKIDDY

Striking teachers contracted to handle junior school classes say the internship issue is only the tip of the iceberg, as they grapple with multiple challenges that have pushed them to the streets.

The educators held demonstrations on Monday, disrupting learning and marking a chaotic back-to-school experience as schools reopened for the second term.

At the centre of their demands is absorption into permanent and pensionable terms by the Teachers Service Commission, enrolment under improved health insurance cover, and autonomy from primary school management.

But, as it turns out, the concerns run deeper.

“The biggest problem we have is the problem of serving as interns in an environment which is also toxic. The pay is too little; the workload is extremely high because in junior school we don't have enough teachers. We were only trained in two, but we teach even more subjects,” junior school teacher Mark Wambua said.

He added that the shortage of teachers forces interns to handle subjects they are not trained in, ultimately compromising the quality of education.

“So students don't get the quality standards they should get, and again, when you expose teachers to this internship programme, which is a hardship thing, their mental status is not good. Whatever they deliver to the student is substandard.”

In 2025, the Teachers Service Commission hired 20,000 trained teachers on internship and added another 24,000 in January 2026.

They earn a Sh20,000 monthly stipend aimed at bridging staffing gaps and matching the enrolment surge created by the government’s 100 per cent transition policy.

On February 27, the Court of Appeal declared the programme unconstitutional, illegal and discriminatory, dismissing the commission’s argument that it was necessary to equip fresh graduates with work experience.

The court ruled that hiring qualified, licensed teachers as interns to perform the same duties as permanent employees for lower pay amounted to exploitation rather than mentorship.

The decision piled pressure on the employer to convert the contracts of all 44,000 interns into permanent and pensionable terms, with unions also pushing for compensation for time already served.

Speaking on TV47 on Tuesday morning, Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) executive secretary Isaac Masenge said the union has multiple unresolved matters with the commission beyond internship, including unpaid allowances for teachers contracted to mark exams.

“Other issues include the issue of medical cover that we have been talking about. We have been having a lot of fluctuations in terms of the benefits of this cover. We have a CBA that's pending that's yet to be implemented. This is why teachers are asking themselves. How do we open schools when we have a lot of unresolved issues?’” he posed.

Wambua noted that while teachers under permanent and pensionable terms have unions such as Knut and Kuppet to channel their concerns, interns are not registered under any union and must speak for themselves.

“When we get confirmed, we will get into SHA, but for now we don't have it. We don't have any union for now; we are just foreigners in schools, but at least Kuppet have been with us in the streets agitating for our confirmation. An intern doesn't have a medical cover; we get Sh17,000 without medical cover; it's a stipend.”

He said their push for autonomy is driven by what he described as toxic leadership from primary school managers.

“Even those who are going to school are just doing it because of fear — what will happen to us? But someone under fear is in school; do you expect them to deliver anything meaningful?” he posed.

Speaking during the same interview, education expert James Nyaga said the government is not giving adequate attention to issues raised by teachers.

He said the system has over-politicised the education sector, with matters that should be resolved in boardrooms now turning into campaign tools at political rallies.

Nyaga said education remains a critical pillar of economic development and a stabilising force that should be strengthened to anchor the country during periods of uncertainty.

“When teachers who are part of the main stakeholders make such concerns and they don't look like they are being given enough attention, it's got to worry us as a country. We had a whole holiday where these things should have been talked about and probably exhausted, but that was not the case; it's a really worrying trend,” he said.

Masenge said unions will continue pushing for members’ rights under legally binding collective bargaining agreements that the government is obligated to implement.

He added that calls for improved benefits under the Social Health Authority will persist until concerns over limits and co-payment are fully addressed.

“SHA has been working well until two or three weeks ago when they brought in limits, especially on outpatient services, and therefore we came out strongly, demanding an explanation from the CS and CEO of SHA, and through that agitation we were able to have a meeting, and as we speak we have another meeting in Naivasha starting tomorrow and Thursday.”

Masenge agreed with Nyaga that the government has shown limited commitment to resolving teachers’ concerns, noting that it could have factored the conversion of intern teachers into permanent and pensionable terms in the supplementary budget.

“The Court of Appeal, the second-highest court in Kenya, ruled on February 27. You are preparing a supplementary budget at the end of March and then you are doing nothing. But we are seeing you all over spending money, campaigns have started. We are becoming an irresponsible government on issues that are so critical to this nation.”

As schools reopen, the standoff underscores a widening gap between policy and classroom reality, with teachers warning that unless their concerns are addressed, the boycott will continue relentlessly.