The Budget and Appropriations Committee on Wednesday instructed the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to hire all the Junior Secondary School teachers who have been working under an internship program on permanent and pensionable terms.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, the committee's chairperson stated that the government had allocated enough funds for the project in the 2024/2025 Financial Year.
“I can assure this house that there are now sufficient resources to confirm the JSS interns into permanent and pensionable terms," stated Ndindi Nyoro.
Further, Nyoro,in his capacity as chairperson of the powerful committee directed that TSC hire all the 46,000 interns who have been working under the programme.
Additionally, the legislator added that the TSC would be required to hire the interns after the passing of the budget as opposed to in January 2025 as earlier proposed.
“From this floor of this house, I want to request the TSC as you appropriate this money kindly do not wait until January 2025 to confirm the interns, Please hasten their confirmation as soon as the budget is passed,” stated Ndindi Nyoro.
He further noted that the teachers had served the nation while working on minimal wages.
The parliamentary directives come after the Junior Secondary School intern teachers agreed to end their three-week strike after signing a return-to-work formula on Saturday, June 1.
The agreement, reached on Madaraka Day, promised to see the teachers return to work on Monday, June 3.
Notably, among the concessions made by TSC was the withdrawal of all show-cause letters issued to teachers for their participation in the strike.
Additionally, TSC committed to reinstating teachers who had been deregistered and had their salaries withheld due to their involvement in the strikes.
However, in an interesting turn of events, some of the JSS teachers declined to honour the signed return to work formula stating that they would only retool after they were hired on permanent and pensionable terms.
