Government allocate Sh28.8 billion on recruiting JSS teachers.
In order to hire the Junior Secondary School intern teachers who have been on strike on permanent and pensionable terms, hire more interns, and advance instructors, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) intends to invest Sh28.88 billion in the upcoming fiscal year.
Instead of January of next year as planned, half of the 46,000 intern teachers could potentially be brought into permanent and pensionable service by July.
Of the total, Sh8.3 billion will go toward hiring 26,000 of the 46,000 striking teachers, and Sh4.68 billion will go toward hiring an extra 20,000 interns starting in July.
While Sh13 billion would be used to carry out the second phase of the collective bargaining agreement for 2021–2025, another Sh1 billion will be put aside to support the promotion of teachers who had been stuck in one job group for nearly 17 years.
According to documents presented to MPs, the commission plans to retrain JSS teachers in the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) for Sh1.3 billion, while Sh200 million would go toward the Secondary Education Quality Improvement Project (SEQIP), which is set to conclude in December of next year.
A budget of Sh204 million has been set aside for the Kenya Primary Education Equity in Learning Programme (KPEELP).
During his presentation to the members of parliament, TSC interim chief executive Cheptumo Ayabei stated that the commission had an accumulative reduction of Sh5.033 billion, which was made up of reductions of Sh33 million in development spending and reductions of Sh5 billion in recurrent expenditure.
While the commission was allotted Sh369.943 billion in the approved 2024 Budget Policy Statement (BPS), it was only given Sh364.91 billion in the draft budget estimates for the financial year 2024–2025.
“The draft budget projections for FY 2024.25 have an allocation of Sh364.91 billion, however the approved 2024 BPS lists the Commission’s allocation as Sh369.943 billion. According to Ayabei, this suggests a total cut of Sh5.033 billion, or Sh5 billion in recurrent spending and Sh33 million in development spending.
Chair of the National Assembly Education Committee Julius Melly instructed TSC to hire the 26,000 intern teachers on permanent and pensionable terms beginning in July rather than January as suggested when he appeared before the Budget and Appropriations Committee (BAC) to defend the education sector budget. Melly informed the MPs, “July will see the conversion of the intern teachers into permanent and pensionable terms at a cost of Sh8.3 billion.”
Reduction in accumulation
“The government’s commitment to ensuring that all future intern teachers are converted to permanent employment upon successfully completing the internship period is demonstrated by the conversion of their terms of service, which will boost their morale,” he continued.
However, Melly instructed TSC to expedite the hiring procedures in his proposals to guarantee that the resources allotted to the exercise are adequately utilized.
Additionally, he gave the commission instructions to review staffing norms requirements for all Basic learning institutions (Primary, Junior School, Senior School) within the next six months. This will allow them to determine the ideal number of teachers needed to inform future resource allocation for teacher recruitment and deployment;
Regarding the Sh1 billion that the commission has set aside for teacher promotion, Melly clarified that the commission needed Sh 2 billion to carry out the exercise, for which Sh 1 billion had been set aside during the current fiscal year. The proposed allocation for 2024–2025 will help ensure that the exercise is successfully completed, benefiting all teachers who have been inactive in various job groups for nearly 17 years.
“Nevertheless, in order to prevent future backlogs of stagnation, the Commission needs more resources to support teachers on a constant basis,” Melly said.
Melly’s comments coincide with the day that Ndindi Nyoro, the chairperson of the BAC, gave the JSS interns the assurance that they will shortly be integrated into the system.
With more than Sh300 billion in funding, TSC is the Kenyan university with the highest ranking. “We wish to give JSS teachers confidence that we will furnish funds to confirm their permanent and pensionable terms to intern,” Nyoro stated.
The JSS teachers who have been participating in weekly rallies over their contracts began receiving show-cause letters from the commission last Thursday.
The interns were instructed to respond to the letter within 14 days of receiving it; if they didn’t, the commission would take appropriate action against them.
Despite a finding on April 17 by Justice Bryrum Ongaya of the Employment and Labour Relations Court that TSC had breached the intern teachers’ right to fair labor practices, the show cause letters still arrived.
A portion of the letter says, “It is noted with great concern that you violated the provisions of TSC Act Schedule Clause (b) in that you engaged in professional misconduct by being absent from duty.” In light of the aforementioned, the commission is considering ending your internship.
The TSC letter states, in part, “Therefore, you’re hereby called upon to show cause why the internship engagement with the commission should not be terminated.”
Melly begged the Budget and Appropriations Committee to restore the Sh 4.9 billion that had been cut from the National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya in order to fund the school food program in order to fund basic education.
Melly noted that the school lunch program is an essential intervention that promotes students’ retention in marginalized schools, particularly those in urban slums and the Ariid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) areas.
Every week demonstrations
“The Committee observes that funding for the school feeding program is not available in 2024–2025. The goal of this important initiative, which has been in place since 1985, is to increase the retention rates of students in elementary schools located in ASAL areas, urban slum areas, and places affected by natural disasters.
Melly pleaded with the MPs, “This intervention is so important that efforts were made to double the allocation to Sh 4.9 billion in the current financial year in order to expand the coverage.”
Nonetheless, in order to have a reliable and accurate pool of learner data to support sector decision-making, he gave the State Department for Basic Education the order to lead and expedite the process of establishing the Kenya Education Management Information System.
According to him, this may be achieved by combining the National Education Management Information System with the tertiary education subsector’s current information systems and taking advantage of extra data that will be obtained from the upcoming national school census.
Melly voiced concerns on the notable decrease in funding allotted to different Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs).
He expressed specific concern over the National Treasury’s decision to exclude many SAGAs from the financial allocation, which he claimed would impair their operations and increase the possibility that they wouldn’t be able to pay their salaries.
Government allocate Sh28.8 billion on recruiting JSS teachers.
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