TSC extends contracts for intern teachers
Intern teachers who were not absorbed in the recently concluded mass recruitment of teachers have a reason to smile after the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) resolved to renew their internship period for one more year from January 2022 to December 2022.
In a Communiqué to Regional Directors dated December 9, 2021, TSC directed that the renewed internship period should commence from January 3, 2022 and that the intern teachers should be retained in their current work stations for the one-year period. “The Commission has resolved to renew internship contracts for all teacher interns who have not been absorbed into Permanent and Pensionable terms of service,” reads the Communiqué in part. The Commission has supplied to all Regional Directors a list of intern teachers.
The list is expected to be supplied to all County Directors for confirmation with instructions that teachers listed who might not be serving as interns within the county as indicated in the list or those with terminated internships should not be issued with letters of contract renewal. TSC also maintained that issuance of letters of contract renewal will depend on the intern teachers renewing their Personal Accident Cover for the coming year of internship.
Read also:
Reintroducing Caning In Schools Will Need A Referendum : Havi
Teachers who will not complete TPD by 2027 Will Be Deregistered, Says TSC
New: Lists Of December 2021 TSC Promoted Teachers Per County
TSC Sets Professional Teaching Standards Each Teacher Must Acquire Through TPD
A copy of the same should be submitted alongside letters of contract renewal. The Commission has also directed all county directors to submit to the regional directors the list of all teacher interns whose contracts will have been renewed together with a separate list of teacher interns who are on the list and whose contract will not be renewed for whatever reason, for compilation and subsequent submission to the commission’s headquarters from where it will reach the Deputy Director’s office by January 3, 2022. Similarly, the Commission expected a list of all intern teachers who were serving within the regions and who didn’t appear in the list provided by TSC by Friday 17,2021 clearly showing the intern’s name, registration number, station and the date the teacher reported to school for internship.
“The template letter used for the renewal of internship contracts in December 2020 shall be used in renewing the internship contract for the current cohort. However, the effective date for the renewed contract shall be 3rd January, 2022. ” read the communiqué. The Commission has further directed its field officers that interns whose contracts will not be renewed for whatever reason should not be replaced but that their list should be submitted to the Commission. The interns who were recently recruited aren’t part of those with renewable contracts since their contracts haven’t lasted for a year. This implies that if they won’t be absorbed by TSC on permanent and pensionable terms by December 2022, they will likely be considered for contract extension.
In October this year, the Commission announced 1,038 internship vacancies in primary schools and 957 for secondary schools in the latest recruitment drive. There are more than 300,000 trained but jobless teachers in the country, while the shortfall of tutors is estimated at about 100,000. In 2019, Primary intern teachers earned Sh10,000 while their counterparts in secondary schools earned Sh15,000 monthly. This led to few applications for intern positions. However, the stipend was increased to Sh15,000 for primary school teachers and Sh20,000 for secondary school teachers.
However, the main attraction for increased applications is the 30 percent automatic marks that interns are awarded during the recruitment process for permanent employment. The internship programme was introduced in order to address the severe teacher shortage in schools. TSC has been employing 5,000 teachers yearly though that hasn’t eased the shortage of teachers in schools following the implementation of the 100 per cent transition policy from primary to secondary schools.
