TSC Wins Appeal: Intern Teacher to Wait Longer for Confirmation
The Court of Appeal has delayed the permanent employment of 46,000 intern teachers by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
Justices Asike Makhandia, Sankale Ole Kantai, and Ngenye Macharia suspended a prior order from the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) that required TSC to transition these interns to permanent, pensionable positions.
As a result, these teachers will continue working as interns until TSC’s appeal is resolved.
The TSC argued that implementing the ELRC’s directive would disrupt its operations since the budget did not cover the permanent employment of 46,000 intern teachers.
TSC lawyer Allan Sitima highlighted that the financial strain would threaten the rights of public school learners under Articles 43 and 53 of the Constitution.
TSC maintained that the intern teachers had voluntarily signed their contracts, anticipating employment next year.
If TSC’s appeal succeeds, the current legal battle would be moot, as new contracts would be issued.
Initially, Justice Byrum Ongaya of the ELRC had declared the intern teachers’ contracts illegal but allowed their employment status to continue temporarily.
The ELRC’s order to freeze permanent employment was set to last until TSC obtained temporary orders from the Court of Appeal or reached a compromise.
Justice Ongaya provided TSC a three-month window to seek higher court intervention or absorb the interns on a permanent basis.
The Kenya Junior Secondary School Teachers Association (KeJUSTA) expressed confusion over the term “status quo” in the ruling, cautioning members against misinterpreting it.
Justice Ongaya explained that TSC’s application was essentially asking him to reconsider his own judgment, and clarified that the status quo would be maintained until August 1, 2024.
He noted that maintaining the current state of affairs would be just until a compromise or new court order was reached.
Justice Ongaya criticized TSC for violating fair labor practices by offering internship positions to qualified, licensed teachers.
TSC had hired around 60,000 interns to teach in Junior Secondary Schools (JSS), crucial for implementing the Competency Based Curriculum.
However, this decision left the future of JSS education uncertain as the new term approached.
The interns, key to this educational framework, threatened not to return to work until the issue was resolved.
Justice Ongaya ruled that TSC should not employ student-teachers or interns, as its mandate was to hire only qualified, registered teachers.
He emphasized that TSC must avoid discriminatory practices and ensure optimal staffing in public schools.
The internship program was initially introduced to address teacher shortages and was meant to last a year before transitioning interns to permanent roles.
President William Ruto later announced an extension of this period by another year.
The court heard that TSC had interns teaching multiple subjects, despite contracts specifying only two.
Interns were also concerned that some peers were hired on permanent terms while they remained on internships similar to college trainees.
Complaints included deductions from their stipends for government taxes and contributions, such as the controversial housing levy.
ALSO READ: Blow to Intern Teachers as Court of Appeal Halts Employment Orders
The Forum for Good Governance and Human Rights filed the case on behalf of the interns, arguing that TSC left them unsupervised and overburdened.
One teacher, Oroso Oganga, testified that he was assigned to teach various subjects outside his contract at Eking Narok Primary School.
Despite his Bachelor of Education degree and specified teaching subjects, he had to handle multiple additional subjects and administrative tasks, receiving only a Sh20,000 stipend.
TSC Wins Appeal: Intern Teacher to Wait Longer for Confirmation
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