At least 26,000 teachers serving on internship terms will be confirmed on permanent and pensionable terms by the end of this year.
At least sh 26 billion has been factored in the coming July budget to absorb the teachers into the pnp payroll.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) got the lions share of the Education budget. TSC was allocated sh 369.94 billion part of which will also be used to to remunerate and promote teachers.
The Commission will confirm 20,000 intern teachers it recruited in February 2023. The teachers second internship term ends this year.
The graduate intern teachers will be placed in job group C2 while those with PTE certificates will start in grade B5.
TSC has on its payroll a total of 46,000 teachers serving on internship terms. However the Commission will only confirm interns to permanent terms after serving on internship for two years.
The money to confirm the teachers is now factored in the 2024 – 2025 budget. Also an allocation to employ another 20,000 intern teachers this year was captured.
Recently TSC Chief Executive Dr. Nancy Macharia had said that they will start recruitment of at least 20,000 new teachers to bridge staffing gaps in junior school.
TSC has admitted that junior secondary schools are grappling with severe teacher shortages.
Macharia said the schools require 99,045 teachers against the current number of 56,928.
“The government is continuously funding schools to progressively bridge the staffing gap. In the next financial year, TSC has requested funds to hire an additional 20,000 teachers to bridge the gap,” said Dr Macharia.
At the same time, TSC is deploying P1 teachers to junior school after it revealed that primary schools have a surplus of 18,194 teachers after the number of classes was reduced by two as the new curriculum rolled out.
The Commission has advertised 6,000 deployment slots for graduate P1 teachers to apply for promotion to junior school.
Serving primary school teachers with degree in secondary option with C+ in KCSE and C+ in two teaching subjects were asked to apply online by 18th March 2024.
TSC has in the past assured intern teachers that they will be converted to pnp in January 2025 after serving for two year internship contract.
President William Ruto had said that his government has changed the policy where internship will now take two years in all government agencies and departments.
Ruto assured junior school intern teachers of employment once they serve the two year contract.
“It is now a government practice for the intern teachers to work for two years before they are employed on permanent and pensionable terms,” Ruto said at State House.
In December again? We thought it was July