Intern teachers in Kericho issue strike notice

KUPPET recently demanded that all intern teachers be employed on permanent terms. [Edward Kiplimo,Standard]

Intern teachers in Kericho county have issued a seven-day strike notice to the government.

The 600 intern teachers who were posted to Junior Secondary School (JSS) have demanded to be employed on permanent and pensionable terms before schools reopen for second term.

Speaking after staging a demonstration in Kericho town, Mary Rotich, the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education (Kuppet) Kericho branch executive, called on the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to obey the Employment and Labour Relationships Court ruling.

The court found that TSC violated the JSS teachers' right to fair labour practice by offering them internship positions despite being qualified and possessing teaching licenses.

"The commission must obey the court ruling on Petition No 223 and compensate the Junior Secondary School intern teachers. The court did the right thing, and the only thing left for the Teachers Service Commission is to obey the court orders," said Rotich.

She highlighted the financial strain faced by intern teachers who are paid Sh17,000.

"The money is very little. It leaves most of the Junior Secondary School Teachers in debt as they struggle to pay landlords and other services and goods providers,” she said.

At the same time the Kericho Kuppet branch executive petitioned the government to allocate sufficient resources to JSS.

“The Ministry of Education must provide enough infrastructure to support Junior Secondary Schools in their premises. They should have staff rooms with chairs and desks, among other teaching and learning resources. They are tired of improvising," said Rotich.

Geoffrey Kiprono, an intern teacher from Kipkelion constituency, accused TSC of alleged corruption in teacher recruitment.

"Teachers who graduated recently are being recruited through the backdoor on permanent and pensionable terms, leaving out teachers who graduated as far back as 2016,” he said. 

Winnie Cheruiyot, an intern teacher in Bureti constituency, declared that they would boycott teaching once schools reopen if the government fails address their grievances.

“The government must confirm us on permanent and pensionable terms if it doesn't want learning activities in Junior Secondary Schools to be interrupted," she said.