TSC internships: Peering into the Future of TSC Internships

The teaching sector has always experienced a biting shortage owing to the lower staffing levels compared to learner enrollment in public schools.

Unfortunately, Kenya, being a third world country, cannot recruit enough teachers through the constitutionally mandated body dubbed the Teachers Service Commission, TSC to bridge the gap.

Consequently, the Teachers Service Commission introduced internship programs through which newly qualified teachers, fresh graduates get absorbed on a contract basis to reduce the glaring gaps as well as garner a rich hands-on experience before being employed on permanent and pensionable terms.

In the year 2019, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) employed the highest number of teachers on internship terms.

The program saw over 11000 tutors sign a one-year-contract to relieve the huge workloads in public schools.

The elephant in the room is the abrupt disruption caused by the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.

This pandemic has left many teachers wondering about what the future holds for teachers employed on internship terms.

Will the TSC end the contract as agreed earlier by the end of the year 2019?

By the time the pandemic started ravaging the country, the teachers had barely reported to their new work stations.

The Commission announced that it had successfully recruited the teachers and placed them on the payroll in March 2020.

In the new budgetary allocation for the financial year 2020/2021, the education sector bagged a lion’s share of the allocation.

Part of the money allocated was meant for the employment of 5000 more teachers on permanent and pensionable terms and an extra 10,000 on internship terms.

With Dr. Nancy Macharia having been reappointed as TSC CEO for the next five years, the Commission is likely to continue recruiting teachers on an internship basis until the government gets enough funds to address the shortages.

How Much does a TSC Intern Teacher in Kenya Earn?

The program sees secondary school intern teachers earn a maximum salary of Kshs 15000 a month and a primary school intern Shs 10, 000.

There have been Protests emanating from various quarters including teachers’ unions and the parliamentary education committee over the meager pay given to intern teachers, there seems to be no one paying attention to the plight of the affected teachers.

To add insult upon injury,  some of these teachers still have to put up with more deductions every month from their meager earnings.

The deductions come in the form of mandatory payments such as NHIF, HELB among others.

Is it mandatory for a teacher to serve as a TSC Intern?

TSC internships are optional. Therefore, no teacher can be coerced to work on a contract basis before getting recruited on permanent and pensionable terms.

However, the Commission does treasure loyalty and sacrifice.

Although it might not be clear right now, the Commission may in the future find a way of rewarding intern teachers.

The most common one is by allocating some extra marks for intern teachers that will see them get employed on permanent and pensionable terms ahead of their counterparts who at the end of this year will have no internship certificates.

The Commission has done this before. Do you remember the extra 10 marks rewarded relief teachers back in the year 2012?

As I wind up, let me remind you that the Teachers Service Commission has the constitutional mandate of revising recruitment guidelines whenever it seems fit.

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