Internship Teachers not Eligible to Serve for More than 2 Years
Internship Teachers not Eligible to Serve for More than 2 Years. Teachers cannot serve on internship periods for more than two years, according to Dr. Nancy Macharia, CEO of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
When Macharia came before the Senate National Cohesion Committee to respond to inquiries on teacher hiring and transfers, she uttered the phrase.
The TSC director made this statement in response to the Senators’ proposal for a freeze on permanent and pensionable teacher employment and recommendation that they instead be hired on a contract basis to address a shortage that the TSC estimates to be 111,810.
The Senate instructed the head of the TSC to determine what legal obstacles need to be removed in order for teachers to be hired on a contract basis, claiming that doing so would enable the commission to hire more teachers with its constrained budgetary allocation.
The commission, according to Mrs. Macharia, cannot lawfully keep teachers on contract for an excessive amount of time; instead, after two years, their contracts would become permanent and pensionable.
She added that the lack of a budget allocated for the effort prevents the Commission from hiring more teachers.
“Because we lack the funds, we’ve never had enough teachers. Provide the funding, and we’ll hire. stated Mrs. Macharia.
The committee was informed by Mrs. Macharia that the 36,000 newly hired teachers’ records are being worked on and that not all of them have yet been added to the payroll. Only 20,900 instructors’ records have been finalized thus far.
Inasin Gishu According to Senator Jackson Mandago, the Employment Act has to be changed to remove any remaining legal barriers to contractual hiring of teachers with specific payment and employment terms.
“Unions cannot hold us prisoner. Both children and unemployed Kenyans need to be educated, he said.
Mahvenda Gataya, a senator for Tharaka Nithi, stated that the idea to hire on a contract basis should be presented to the Cabinet for approval so that people who complete a set period of service are annually hired on a permanent basis.
Although the commission hired 36,000 new teachers earlier this year, according to Mrs. Macharia, there is still a shortfall of instructors in primary schools (47,339) and high schools (64,541).
She stated that in order to accomplish this, the commission needs a Shl4.8 billion annual budgetary commitment for teacher recruitment.
Mrs. Macharia disclosed last week that the 20,000 teachers hired in February for internship terms will not receive permanent employment with pension benefits until January 2025.
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 departing due to attrition will be hired on a permanent basis and be eligible for pensions.