The contracts of 46,000 intern teachers employed in 2023 will be made permanent and pensionable at the end of 2024, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has said.

TSC CEO Nancy Macharia says that by the end of 2024, the teachers will have undergone their 2 years internship program, therefore qualifying for permanent contracts.

“The 46,000 interns that are already in place we shall be converting them into permanent and pensionable terms once the 2 years’ internship program is over towards the end of this year or early next year,” Macharia said.

Macharia also disclosed that TSC is planning to recruit an additional 20,000 intern teachers in Junior Secondary School (JSS) to undergo the 2 years’ internship program as per the government policy.

“You can see what is happening at the commission, good things for teachers. We turn the 46,000 into [Permanent and Pensionable] but then we recruit another 20,000 as interns to undergo the 2 years’ internship program as per the government policy,” she noted.

Promotion of teachers

TSC has been allocated KSh1 billion in the financial year 2024/2025 to promote teachers.

The funds, Macharia says, will be used to promote a total 6,000 teachers who are expected to receive their letters starting this week.

“The issue of stagnation in teaching service will hopefully be over soon because we are getting funding from government to promote teachers.”

She further noted that 36,000 other teachers will be promoted in this financial year.

“On top of the 6,000 teachers that the 1 billion will be taking care of, we will be most likely promoting again 36,500 and these promotions include primary school teachers and head teachers, post-primary teachers and head teachers where post primary includes TTC’s and of course the outgoing 8-4-4 secondary school and the JSS,” Macharia stated.

The teachers, many of who have stagnated in the same job groups for years, were interviewed for over 36,000 vacancies.

TSC had invited applications for promotion in August last year and interviews were conducted in December 2023 and January this year.

President Ruto’s assurance

President William Ruto in December 2023 assured the JSS interns of employment once they serve for two years.

Ruto, at the time, insisted that it is his government’s practice for the intern teachers to work for two years before they are employed on permanent and pensionable terms.

“The JSS intern teachers will be at work in January. We had promised that before being employed on permanent and pensionable terms in all the sectors, they must do an internship for two years,” he said.

Story by Andrine Kilemi, TV47’s Education reporter