TSC to Withdraw JSS Teacher’s Show Cause Letters as Interns Resume Duties
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is set to withdraw the show cause letters issued to junior secondary school (JSS) teachers for absconding duty.
This decision follows a return-to-work agreement signed between the JSS and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) leadership in Nairobi.
KUPPET Secretary General Akelo Misori reported that these letters had been issued despite the National Assembly Committee of Education’s efforts to lobby for more funds to resolve the impasse.
The 46,000 JSS teachers had been protesting the government’s failure to employ them on permanent terms.
Teachers to Resume Duties
Misori confirmed that both the union and the commission had agreed to withdraw all show-cause letters and exit notices previously issued to the teachers, ensuring that normalcy would return to JSS institutions no later than June 3.
During the three-hour meeting, it was also decided that the teachers’ employer would hire all the teachers on permanent and pensionable status by July 1, rather than the initially planned January of next year.
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The government had allocated Sh8.3 billion to employ 26,000 intern teachers by January 2025, and an additional Sh4.5 billion for hiring 20,000 more intern teachers.
However, under the new agreement, KUPPET urged the TSC to refrain from hiring more interns and instead use the allocated funds to convert all 46,000 JSS teachers to permanent status.
Misori emphasized that challenges in the education sector could be resolved through consultations, advocating for JSS to be domiciled in the secondary section to leverage resources in senior schools and alleviate the strain on primary schools.
He highlighted the union’s strong support for permanent and pensionable hiring terms, stating that JSS forms the backbone of the education sector by setting the foundation for the Competency-Based Curriculum’s success.
Legal Basis for Teachers’ Demands
The teachers’ demand is based on a recent judgment by the Employment and Labour Relations Court, which ruled that their hiring on contract was flawed and that the TSC could only hire teachers on a permanent and pensionable basis.
Misori reaffirmed KUPPET’s readiness to collaborate with the National Treasury and other government bodies to resolve the issue within legal frameworks.
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Assistant Organising Secretary of the Junior Secondary Teachers Association, Murunga Muliro, called on teachers to return to class on Monday.
He announced that the union and the teachers had reached an agreement on various issues, marking the end of the three-week strike.
TSC to Withdraw JSS Teacher’s Show Cause Letters as Interns Resume Duties
