Junior secondary school (JSS) teachers will now have to complete a two-year internship because the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) did not get enough money in the budget for 2025-2026 to hire them permanently.
Around 20,000 JSS teachers who started their one-year internship in January will have their contracts extended for another year. This was announced in Parliament after it was found out that the TSC couldn’t confirm their permanent positions.
These teachers were hired in November last year and expected to become permanent after their contracts ended in December. However, the government has cut education funding by 62 billion shillings, making it hard for them to hire more teachers.
In 2023, the government made a rule that all interns in government jobs must serve for two years. This followed a situation in 2022 when the TSC hired 46,000 teachers for one year but then had to extend their contracts for another year, promising them permanent jobs after two years.
President Ruto had promised these JSS intern teachers that they would get permanent jobs after completing their two-year contracts, especially after they went on strike asking for job security.
“It is now a government practice for the intern teachers to work for two years before they are employed on permanent and pensionable terms,” Ruto said at State House.
“The JSS intern teachers will be at work in January. We had promised that before being employed on permanent and pensionable terms, they must do an internship for two years.”
The Labour and Relations Court however declared TSC internship programme illegal.
It said the teachers are not interns but fully trained and registered teachers who should get same treatment as other teachers on pnp payroll.
In the 2025 – 2026 budget TSC has been allocated a total of sh 377 billion for teachers salaries and allowances.
Treasury also allocated TSC sh 7.2 billion for intern teachers stipend and employment of another 20,000 intern teachers.
Internship is a key programme that TSC uses to address staffing gaps in schools.
The Teacher Internship Programme is a one year programme meant to equip and sustain competencies of persons entering the teaching service.
The programme targets unemployed registered teachers to be assigned to learning institutions where their teaching experience will be enhanced through mentorship, coaching and exposure to practical teaching experience.
The internship period will be for twelve months though majority of the recent intern teachers have served for two years.
Teacher internship is not a remunerative engagement. However, interns attached to Junior Secondary schools will be eligible for a monthly stipend of Kshs. 20,000/=.
The stipend will be paid subject to statutory deductions like SHIF, Housing levy, and NSSF where applicable.
On successful completion of the Internship Programme, teacher interns will be awarded a certificate.
Intern teachers are also eligible to apply whenever TSC advertises permanent and pensionable teaching vacancies.
In this years scoresheet for recruitment of teachers on permanent and pensionable terms, TSC awarded 50 marks to teachers who served on internship terms regardless of the period served.
TSC has early this month advertised 2,014 replacement slots where a total of 673 slots are for secondary schools which JSS intern teachers can apply.
TSC called for interested and qualified candidates to submit their applications online through the APPLICATION LINK not later than Monday, 19th May 2025 Midnight.
