TSC News: How effective are TSC Internships and how many Graduate Teachers in Kenya are willing to work on an Internship Basis
Research shows that Kenyan Teachers are willing to work as interns but on certain conditions
“TSC Hires over 8, 000 Interns, places them on the payroll” was the rather controversial title published on “The Standard” by Augustine Oduor on March 26, 2020, at 2.24 P.M. which led many Kenyans to believe that the 8, 141 TSC interns had been absorbed by the Commission on PnP basis.
Check the link below
https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001365790/8-000-teacher-interns-hired-placed-on-payroll
The controversy was generated by the term “Hires” since the TSC interns had already been hired in December 2019 and some of them were already receiving salaries.
The groundbreaking news led to a few findings on TSC internship programmes which are likely to inform major decisions in as far as the hiring of teachers on internship and permanent and pensionable terms are concerned.
How effective are TSC Internships in Kenya?
Quick research conducted on Thursday March 25 has shown that despite being paid a pittance for their services, teachers are willing to work on internships as long as their employer, the TSC can give them priority when it employs teachers on permanent and pensionable terms.
Many interns on receiving the “good news” were on the moon to lose control. They felt that their sacrifice had led them to fruition.
Their more experienced counter-parts working on permanent and pensionable terms are however pessimistic about the whole idea of working on an internship basis.
They felt like the title was just meant to grab the attention of the audience and the whole idea was a scam since there is no way the Commission can hire a whopping 8, 141 interns without blinking.
TSC Interns Salaries
To make TSC internships more effective, it is prudent that the Commission considers revising the salary of teacher interns upwards.
According to The Standard News, the TSC has already placed 8, 141 on its payroll successfully.
This means that the interns will continue to earn peanuts despite KUPPET’s protest.
KUPPET is yet to understand how the Teachers Service Commission arrived at the low salaries for teacher interns yet public servant interns earn up to Kshs 25, 000 a month.
According to The Standard, intern teachers posted to primary schools earn about Kshs 6, 000 a month after the mandatory deductions: NHIF, NSSF and HELB 9for beneficiaries only).
TSC chair Lydia Nzomo and CEO Nancy Macharia were to appear before the Senate Education Committee chaired by Bomet Senator Christopher Langat to explain the nature of TSC Internship contracts.
