Do Not Appeal Court Ruling On Intern Teachers, KUPET Tells TSC
The union has encouraged the Teachers Service Commission not to appeal the Employment and Labour Relations Court’s (ELCR) decision but rather to convert the interns’ contract to permanent and pensionable conditions.
Justice Byrum Ongaya’s court ruling this week found that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) exceeded its legal obligations by hiring interns as teachers, dealing a severe blow to the educational sector, which is about to implement the JSS phase in just two weeks.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court’s (ELRC) landmark verdict on interns has cast doubt on the future of junior secondary schools (JSS), raising concerns about the legality of employing intern instructors, who are crucial to the new competency-based curriculum.
On Thursday, Secretary-General Akelo Misori remarked at the Kuppet offices in Nairobi, “We urge the TSC not to appeal the judgment, but to work with Kuppet and other stakeholders in thinking through legal and just means to bridge the deficit in teaching service.”
He continued by saying that such a classification was not appropriate for qualified teachers.
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Obuhatsa said they could not comment for now and emphasized that they still had no say because TSC may appeal the court ruling. He added that they would go with the president’s directive.
Politicized
Misori accused TSC of being politicized and abandoning its role as an independent governmental organization.
He continued, saying that when they engaged in such a casual manner in determining the internship, it’s a real indictment that it (TSC) lost its independence and consequently pursued other paths.
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He challenged the commission to work with the Legislature to secure additional funding to end the looming stalemate in education.
Ms. Misori added that it is now a choice for the government and TSC to delve into this matter and ask for funding to employ 20,000 teachers on PnP because that’s the legal mandate of the commission.
Do Not Appeal Court Ruling On Intern Teachers, KUPET Tells TSC
