Iten
Monday April 29, 2024
KNA by Alice Wanjiru
The Keiyo KNUT branch executive secretary Paul Biwott has called on the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to confirm and compensate all Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers who have been serving as interns.
Biwott who led the teachers in a peaceful demonstration in Iten town said the TSC should confirm them before schools reopen to enable smooth learning instead of waiting until July as the TSC had promised.
The secretary called on TSC to obey the court order by justice Byrum Ongaya who ruled that TSC is not supposed to hire or engage interns because the commission’s mandate is limited to employment of only those qualified and registered as trained teachers.
In his ruling, Justice Ongaya added that the first respondent (TSC) should employ intern teachers upon terms which are not discriminatory in order to meet the optimal staffing needs in public schools and more so in junior secondary schools.
The teachers said they had already worked for the one year as interns and without further communication from TSC they are not supposed to report to schools once they reopen a move they said will leave a huge gap in the schools which are already facing a serious shortage of teachers.
Led by Moses Kimaiyo, the intern teachers called on TSC to compensate them for the one year worked where they were earning Sh17,000 per month despite being degree holders.
Biwott added that KNUT is not supporting the proposal to have all government employees on contract saying no other country has its employees on contract and wondered how it will work in Kenya.
He also called on the ministry of education to improve on its communication saying while the move to postpone the reopening of schools was right, the timing of the communication was wrong.
The secretary said the decision should have been communicated early to enable principals and headteachers to communicate to parents saying not all parents are on social media.
Courtesy; KNA