JSS Teachers Strike Against Govt Pay for Internships and Confirmation.
Junior Secondary School (JSS) intern teachers from Kilifi County have threatened to quit if the government does not acknowledge them as full-time, pensionable workers and reimburse them for their internship hours.
During a peaceful demonstration in Kilifi on Monday, the intern teachers spoke to the media and accused their employer, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), of mistreating them and violating their rights.
We are asking the government to certify that we finished our internships and to reimburse us for that time. We urge TSC to respect the court’s ruling that an internship is illegal, according to JSS intern instructor Azani Ngumbao.
In a recent decision, the court ruled that TSC’s internship program was illegal because it violates teachers’ rights to fair labor practices by providing teaching license holders who are qualified with internship employment.
He went on to note that their Ksh. 20,000 monthly gross salary is not enough to cover their requests, and that on top of that, it is subject to tax deductions that other permanent employees must also pay.
Ngumbao claims that around 1,200 JSS teachers in the county will not report to their duty stations when courses resume for the second term of 2024.
Another JSS intern, Andrew Lelei, has claimed that the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) will be in jeopardy if the tutors’ requests are not fulfilled.
Without intern teachers, he claims, the program cannot run smoothly.
“I’ve suffered enough, as have the interns. They don’t compensate us, even if we are advancing the CBC program.If they don’t pay us and confirm our identity, this CBC broadcast would be jeopardized, Lelei said.
He said that certain lawmakers are offering job letters to young graduates but leaving older graduates unemployed in favor of permanent employment.
JSS Teachers Strike Against Govt Pay for Internships and Confirmation.
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