Intern teachers are demands their entire compensation from TSC after court’s ruling.
Teachers who have been employed under a scheme launched by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) in 2019 and have been working on a contract now want to be paid the same wage as teachers who are employed permanently and are eligible for pensions.
The instructors, who are also known as interns, made their claim in response to a court decision that ruled the commission had broken the law by hiring teachers who had already completed their degrees as interns.
Speaking to the media in Nairobi, a spokesman of the organization Boniface Omari announced that the nation’s more than 50,000 intern teachers will be returning to the courts to seek payment for their labor.
The Forum for Good Governance and Human Rights has brought the lawsuit on behalf of the educators.
It has been reported nationwide that TSC intends to file an appeal against the decision rendered by Judge Byram Ongaya of the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
The lawyer for TSC Allan Sitima wrote a letter to the deputy registrar of the court stating, “Kindly but urgently do furnish us with a typed copy of the certified proceedings and certified copy of the judgment in this matter to enable us lodge an appeal at the Court of Appeal.”
Primary school intern teachers receive Sh15,000 per month, while secondary school interns receive Sh20,000, which the commission refers to as a “stipend.”
But after statutory deductions—which now include the recently imposed Housing Levy—they receive less money.
“We have been working as full-time educators and attending all of the mandatory classes. Like our brothers and sisters who have stable jobs with pensions, we should also receive full pay.
“We receive Sh17,000 while they receive over Sh60,000.” It’s really unjust,” Mr. Omari remarked.
According to him, interns from primary schools have been earning Sh13,000 for the past fifteen months.
They also want payment for the time they worked under contract with TSC without receiving a paycheck.
This implies that if the employer ignores the expectations of the teachers, instruction in junior secondary schools (JSS), which significantly depend on the interns, may be disrupted.
“The court has ruled that every contract that more than 50,000 teachers have signed is unlawful and void. In order to abide by the court’s decision that instructors with comparable qualifications had to be paid equally, the government ought to take the TSC to task, Mr. Omari suggested.
Additionally, the court barred TSC from working with interns going forward because it is outside of their purview. According to Justice Ongaya, the commission’s constitutional and legislative duty is limited to hiring teachers who meet the necessary qualifications and are registered with the government.
We request that TSC make themselves available, meet with the instructors, and decide on a schedule for complying with the court judgment. Additionally, we are asking the government to remind TSC that funds have been set aside for our prompt confirmation through the chair of the Parliamentary Budget Committee, MP Ndindi Nyoro, according to Mr. Omari.
The teachers’ contracts were extended by TSC for a further year, and it was announced that in January 2025, their status will change to permanent and pensionable.
Intern teachers are demands their entire compensation from TSC after court’s ruling.
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