The 20,000 intern teachers employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will have to work on a temporary basis for at least two years after the commission was denied budgetary allocations to employ them on permanent and pensionable terms.

The revelation was made on a day that MPs were also told that the commission does not have any money to increase salaries of the more than 300,000 teachers on its payroll.

Although the commission’s budget has been increased from Sh382.2 billion in the Budget Policy Statement (BPS) to Sh387.7 billion in the estimates, TSC says it still requires an additional Sh3 billion on top of the Sh5.71 billion deficit to actualise the conversion of intern teachers to permanent and pensionable terms.

Appearing before the MPs, to defend their 2025/2026 budget, TSC Director of Finance Cheptumo Ayabei and Director of Legal, Labour and Industrial Relations Cavin Anyuor told the MPs that although they had engaged the National Treasury to avail allocate it funds for the intern teachers who were supposed to serve for one year, the same was not factored in the 2025/2026 budget.

“So, these teachers will have to serve for the next two years or as otherwise advised, as there is no provision to recruit them on permanent and pensionable terms,” Ayabei told the lawmakers, adding that the policy for recruitment of interns is after one has served for a year but is renewable.

“If we get funding, even now, we can put them on permanent and pensionable terms,” he added.

Despite the admission, committee members could hear none of it and told off the commission on its proposal to employ an additional 20,000 intern teachers in the current financial year. The MPs are instead urging TSC to first absorb the current lot of intern teachers on a permanent basis before it can think of hiring another lot.

Urgency needed

The MPs who sit on the Education committee, chaired by Tinderet MP Julius Melly, further demanded that the commission engage the National Treasury to have the money availed as a matter of urgency. They also urged the commission to come up with a policy on recruitment of teachers who are 45 years and above as they have been neglected whenever the exercise takes place.

According to the MPs, it is regrettable that some of the old teachers have resorted to undertaking menial jobs including engaging themselves in boda boda businesses to fend for their families.

Baringo North MP Joseph Makilap claimed that allowing intern teachers to serve for two years would be going against a court ruling that capped internships at one year.

“The court ruling is clear that you can only serve for one year. Chair, these interns need to be confirmed by December,” he insisted.

Luanda MP Dickson Maungu demanded that the commission carry out targeted employment of the said teachers to ensure that they are all absorbed.

“I would wish that they would come out effectively and tell us the affirmative action policy that they will use to absorb the said teachers,” he pointed.

TSC informed the MPs that monies meant for Collective Bargain Agreement (CBA) has not been factored in the 2025/2026 budget yet the current agreement is coming to an end next month. Anyuor told the MPs they are yet to engage the teachers’ unions on the CBA as they have no budgetary allocation for the same.

“Currently the CBA agreement is expiring on June 30, 2025. We are yet to invite unions because we have no funding but we have engaged the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) on the same so that by the time we get there we know what we can offer. However, we have negotiated on the non-monetary aspect,” the legal director told MPs.

TSC is supposed to sign a new CBA with unions that is supposed to run from July 2025 to June 2029 as the current CBA signed in 2021 lapses next month.

Under the current negotiations, the unions are pushing for significant increase in salaries and improved allowances with Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) pushing for a 60 per cent salary increase in basic pay while the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) is demanding for a salary hike ranging from 50 per cent to 100 per cent alongside the introduction of a risk allowance specifically for science teachers.

Unpaid dues

The commission also disclosed that they have only been allocated 50 per cent of the medical allocation for teachers. TSC said it has not allocated Sh3.5 billion for the group life, group personal accident and Work Injury Benefits Act (Wiba) in the current financial estimates.

On dispensation of disciplinary cases, the commission said it has been underfunded by Sh49 million while the vote for procurement of motor vehicles, office equipment, furnishings and refurbishments for the sub-county offices estimated at Sh830 million has not been funded.

While appearing before the same committee two weeks ago, Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia told the MPs that the commission has fully paid the second-year policy that ended November 30 2024, but due to exchequer delays they are yet to pay for the first and second quarters of the third policy, which commenced on December 1 2024 and March 1 2025 respectively.