JS teachers amplify calls for absorption on permanent terms

Intern teachers march to Mbale town to present their petition to the Teachers Service Comission office, May 8, 2026. /SCREENGRAB

Teachers employed under the outlawed internship programme have continued to pile pressure on the government to convert them into permanent and pensionable employees in line with a February 27 Court of Appeal ruling.

The Teachers Service Commission initiated the teacher internship programme in 2023 to fill massive staffing gaps in junior schools (JS), initially known as JSS, under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) framework.

The programme was designed to address teacher shortages in Grades 7, 8 and 9 when the pioneer CBE cohort transitioned to Grade 7 in January 2023.

President William Ruto directed that the intern teachers serve a maximum of two years on contract, earning a Sh20,000 monthly stipend, before being absorbed into permanent and pensionable terms.

The contracts have, however, been extended without any of the 44,000 teachers being employed on permanent and pensionable terms.

The Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision that found the 2023 internship recruitment discriminatory, ruling that qualified teachers were engaged as interns on inferior pay despite handling the same workload as fully employed teachers.

Following the ruling, the contracts of more than 44,000 junior school intern teachers were deemed illegal, with the court ordering that they be converted to permanent and pensionable terms.

However, the matter remains subject to further legal proceedings after the Supreme Court on April 30 issued a stay order suspending the Court of Appeal’s decision, effectively allowing the TSC to continue implementing the internship programme until a final appeal is heard and determined.

Despite the development, intern teachers across the country have continued holding peaceful protests to pressure the government into allocating funds to employ them permanently.

The teachers say the Sh20,000 stipend leaves them with about Sh17,000 after statutory deductions, which they argue is insufficient to meet their needs, especially since they do not enjoy employment benefits available to permanent staff.

On Friday, intern teachers in Vihiga county staged a peaceful march to TSC offices in Mbale Town where they presented a petition.

“We have two prayers in our petition; one is for the CS Treasury to allocate Sh15 billion in the budget so that they can confirm the interns. The second petition is asking TSC to start preparing files for the interns for confirmation,” Kuppet Vihiga secretary general Charles Otiende said.

The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers has been speaking on behalf of the intern teachers even though they are not yet members because they are not permanent employees and are therefore not unionisable.

The teachers argued that the internship programme lacks dignity, with the court dismissing TSC’s argument that the programme was meant to provide practical teaching experience and mentorship to newly registered teachers before full employment.

The Court of Appeal ruled that the internship arrangement was disguised employment aimed at evading legal and constitutional obligations owed to teachers.

“It is a demand to them that they confirm us because we are not giving any service for free or charity work. We go to work, give our services and expect that we be paid and confirmed,” the teachers said.

Union officials also alleged that despite the government committing to paying the Sh20,000 monthly stipend, some intern teachers have not received their pay.