JSS Teachers on internship must hold on till better terms.
The terms of employment for the almost 60,000 teachers who were hired as interns by the Teachers Service Commission will remain unchanged.
Their employment contracts were ruled unlawful by the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) two weeks ago.
However, a judge ordered on Friday that their work status should stand. This is valid until the commission strikes a compromise or receives interim orders from the Court of Appeal.
Judge Byrum Ongaya, however, granted TSC a three-month grace period, during which it must either request higher court intervention or hire all impacted instructors on a permanent and pensionable basis.
The Kenya Junior Secondary School Teachers Association (KeJUSTA) sent a letter to its members the day after Ongaya issued the directives, stating that it was awaiting clarification on what exactly the term “status quo” meant.
It contended that the judge’s meaning was ambiguous.
KeJUSTA Secretary General Daniel Murithi remarked, “I wish to caution teachers against misguided interpretation of the ruling and the misplacement of the term status quo as it appears in the ruling.”
Put judgment aside
TSC filed a motion to rescind the ruling in the interim, arguing that doing so would imperil its intention to hire the interns for the next year.
But according to Justice Ongaya, the application implied that TSC was requesting that he rely on his own judgment.
But he said that things would continue as they are until August 1, 2024.
“The court determined that it would be justifiable to preserve the pre-judgment status quo with regard to the rulings and directives in the judgment, until there is a resolution or reorganization of the parties’ affairs or applicants submit a suitable application to the Court of Appeal,” Justice Ongaya declared.
TSC was found to have breached the right to fair labor practices by offering internship employment to instructors even though they were competent and held teaching licenses, according to Ongaya’s ruling.
“The first respondent (TSC) would be entitled to hire interns if the respondents had demonstrated statutory regulatory or policy arrangements.” According to him, the first response should ideally hire registered instructors on nondiscriminatory terms in order to satisfy public schools’ ideal staffing requirements.
On an ongoing basis
The initiative was put in place to lessen the scarcity of teachers in educational institutions, especially as junior secondary school grew. Before the interns were hired on a permanent basis, the program was originally scheduled to operate for a year. However, President William Ruto declared in December that the teachers will have to spend an additional year before being given consideration for employment.
The interns were given contracts by TSC to teach two topics, as the court heard the case. But in the end, they were responsible for teaching every topic.
Additionally, there were grievances raised about TSC withholding all government-mandated taxes and contributions—including the contentious housing levy—even though the tutors received a stipend.
The Forum for Good Governance and Human Rights brought the lawsuit on behalf of the interns. It suggested that individuals employed were not under supervision and were expected to handle all issues independently.
The court heard that the second respondent is treating the children’s rights and life carelessly, using them as test subjects to see if the CBC can function.
An affidavit supporting the case was filed by one of the impacted teachers. Oroso Oganga said in his affidavit that he was assigned to Kajiado County’s Eking Narok Primary School.
He added that his contract with TSC made it clear that he was to teach either history or Christian religious education. He holds a Bachelor of Education (Arts) degree. However, he ended up teaching computer science, integrated science, social studies, CRE, health education, and life skills when he reported to the school on February 7, 2023.
Oroso said that he only received a Sh20,000 stipend in spite of all of his labor.
JSS Teachers on internship must hold on till better terms.
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