A storm is brewing in the education sector as Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers mount pressure on the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to confirm them on permanent and pensionable terms before their one-year internship contracts lapse in December.
Kisumu county JSS teacher’s chairman, Kevin Oliech, said the more than 20,000 science teachers deployed across the country have worked tirelessly under harsh conditions and now deserve full employment.
“We have served diligently for one year under difficult conditions. As our term ends, there is no guarantee of absorption. We will resist any attempt by TSC to extend our internship,” said Oliech.
Addressing journalists at the Jomo Kenyatta Sports Grounds, Oliech accused the commission of dragging its feet despite a court ruling barring any extension of internship terms, insisting that the government must now regularize their employment.
Oliech further called on the National Treasury to urgently release Sh. 30.4 billion required to facilitate the teachers’ confirmation, warning that any delay could disrupt learning in junior schools when classes resume in January.
“We are not only demanding confirmation but fair pay, house allowance, and comprehensive medical cover. We have given our best to support the government’s education reforms and deserve to be treated with dignity,” he added.
Kisumu JSS Teachers Vice Chairperson Peter Otuoma said it was unacceptable for degree-holding teachers to continue earning Sh.17,000 monthly while handling heavy workloads.
“We teach over 40 lessons a week. That is exploitation, not service. The government must absorb all JSS interns and pay them well,” he said.
The mounting pressure has now attracted the backing of the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), which has warned of possible disruption in learning if the government fails to confirm the tutors.
KUPPET Kisumu Branch Executive Secretary Zablon Owange said the science teachers have been the backbone of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) and that their uncertainty threatens to derail the education transition.
“The STEM pathway would have collapsed without these teachers. Transition to senior school is at risk if they are not confirmed. The government must move with speed to safeguard CBC,” said Owange.
Owange lamented that due to a shortage of science teachers, some schools had resorted to assigning English and Kiswahili teachers to handle science classes — a move he said undermines academic standards.
“That is how serious the shortage has become. KUPPET will not accept even a single day’s extension of internship. The teachers must be confirmed before January,” he warned.
– By Chris Mahandara
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