46,000 Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers have been dealt a significant setback after National Treasury and Finance Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi announced that the government does not have money to employ them.
Speaking in an interview with a local media station, Mbadi revealed that the government is unable to employ these teachers on permanent and pensionable terms, contradicting with President William Ruto’ s directive.
The CS added that there is a shortfall in the budget and therefore, the government cannot address JSS teachers’ concerns.
“We don’t have resources to recruit JSS teachers on permanent that one I would be lying, and we don’t have resources for the additional 20,000 that was reduced in the estimates. There is a shortfall of about Ksh.13 billion,” he said.
“There is no money availed for conversions unless we do budget adjustments which we really don’t have space for. This year has been challenging. We really had to look around and see how we can raise the money we made available for teachers for their salary adjustments.”
Govt Had Earlier Plana on Employing JSS Intern Teachers
The government had planned to employ teachers who are currently on internships at a budget of Ksh18.3 billion.
In a statement following a Parliamentary Group (PG) Meeting on June 18, National Assembly Finance Committee Chair Kimani Kuria said enough funds had been allocated the employment of 46,000 JSS intern teachers on permanent and pensionable.
Also Read: Teacher Unions Consider Strike Withdrawal After TSC Talks
“The PG was also informed that adequate funds -KSh18 billion – have been provided for the employment of all 46,000 Junior Secondary teachers who are on internship,” Kimani said.
Teachers Service Commission (TSC) was also expected to hire 20,000 interns beginning next month to curb the shortage of teachers.
“The Funds have also been provided to hire 20,000 interns next month. The policy is now to transition teachers from internship to permanent and pensionable terms,” he added
In June 2024, the Court of Appeal dashed hopes of 46,000 intern teachers to be employed on permanent and pensionable terms by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
Justices Asike Makhandia, Sankale Ole Kantai and Ngenye Macharia suspended the orders issued by the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) requiring the commission to convert the internship to permanent and pensionable terms.
The JSS teachers will continue working as interns until the case filed by the Nancy Macharia-led commission is heard and determined.
Also Read: Blow to JSS Teachers as Court Gives Way Forward on Permanent Jobs
Teachers’ Looming Strike
Mbadi’s remarks come in response to the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers (KUPPET), who announced on Wednesday that their nationwide strike will proceed as planned on Monday, August 26, 2024. Also Read:
The impending industrial action stems from the government’s failure to allocate Ksh13.3 billion for the implementation of the second phase of the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), a crucial agreement that was negotiated, signed, and deposited in court.
The unions cited TSC’s failure to address critical grievances raised during a meeting on July 16, 2024, aimed at resolving the planned industrial action and issues affecting teachers’ welfare.
On its part, KNUT is advocating for the permanent employment of intern teachers and the hiring of an additional 20,000 teachers to address the current staffing shortfall.
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