TSC Faces Sh3.2 Billion Shortfall for Permanent Employment of 46,000 Intern Teachers
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is grappling with a Sh3.2 billion shortfall in its bid to employ over 46,000 intern teachers on a permanent and pensionable basis.
Despite the government allocating Sh13.4 billion for this purpose, the TSC had estimated a need of Sh16.6 billion to complete the conversion, leaving a significant gap in funding.
The allocation towards the employment of intern teachers follows months of disputes, including a strike, layoffs, and a pending court case between the interns and the TSC.
In May, the TSC informed Parliament of its plan to transition interns to permanent positions by January 2025, after a two-year internship period.
However, the National Assembly’s Committee on Education petitioned for the immediate hiring of 26,000 teachers on permanent terms starting in July this year.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u proposed the Sh13.4 billion allocation while presenting the 2024/2025 budget to Parliament. This proposal, though substantial, still leaves a financial gap for the TSC.
“I have proposed an allocation of Sh13.4 billion for the conversion of 46,000 Junior Secondary School interns to Permanent and Pensionable terms,” said Treasury CS Njuguna Ndung’u while presenting the 2024/2025 budget to Parliament.
See: How the Education Ministry and TSC Will Spend Their Budget Allocations
Record Budget for Education Sector
The education sector received a record Sh656.6 billion in the latest budget, marking a Sh28 billion increase from the previous year’s Sh628 billion. Nearly half of this amount, Sh358.2 billion, is directed to the TSC, the body responsible for employing teachers.
Additional Allocations for Education
The budget also includes significant allocations for various aspects of education:
Classroom Construction and Teacher Training:
- Sh1 billion for constructing classrooms in junior secondary schools.
- Sh1.3 billion for training teachers in the Competency-Based Curriculum.
Basic Education:
- Sh142.3 billion for primary and secondary education.
- Sh9.1 billion for Free Primary Education.
- Sh30.7 billion for capitation in junior secondary schools.
- Sh61.9 billion to support Free Day Secondary Education.
- Sh5 billion allocated to the Kenya National Examinations Council for exam fee waivers.
- Sh3.2 billion for infrastructure development in schools.
Higher Education and Research:
- Sh128 billion for higher education and research.
- Sh30.7 billion for TVET institutions.
- Sh35.9 billion for the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), including Sh16.9 billion for university scholarships and Sh7.7 billion for TVET capitation and scholarships.
- Sh1.1 billion for Research, Science and Technology Innovation.
- Sh1.8 billion for constructing integrated resource centres for learning.
Digital Literacy and ICT Integration:
- Sh360 million proposed for the Digital Literacy Programme and ICT integration in secondary schools.
- Sh11.1 billion for the Kenya Primary Education Equity in Learning programme.
- Sh1.5 billion for the Kenya Secondary Schools Quality Improvement project.
- Notably, the school feeding programme was not mentioned in the budget allocations by the Treasury Cabinet Secretary.
TSC Faces Sh3.2 Billion Shortfall for Permanent Employment of 46,000 Intern Teachers
