The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has announced the renewal of internship contracts for 20,000 Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers who were recruited in late 2023 and deployed to schools in January 2024.
According to TSC, teachers, whose one-year internship terms were set to expire in December 2024, will now serve an additional one-year term under the same conditions.
This development was made public during a session in Parliament, where it was revealed that the TSC did not receive a budgetary allocation to transition the interns to permanent and pensionable (PnP) terms in the upcoming 2025–2026 financial year.
The decision comes amid a substantial reduction in the education sector’s funding by Ksh 62 billion as the government struggles to reallocate resources to other pressing sectors of the economy.
Initially, there was widespread optimism among the interns that they would be absorbed on permanent terms at the end of their first year. Their hopes were based on earlier assurances from President William Ruto, who had pledged that the intern teachers would be offered permanent employment after completing a two-year internship period.
“It is now a government practice for intern teachers to work for two years before they are employed on permanent and pensionable terms,” President Ruto reiterated during a past address at State House.
This policy aligns with a broader government directive introduced in 2023, which mandates all interns across public service departments to serve for two consecutive years before being considered for permanent roles. The move mirrors a similar decision made by TSC in 2022, when 46,000 teachers were hired on internship contracts and required to serve two years before being promised PnP confirmation.
However, the legality of this approach has come under scrutiny. In a landmark ruling, the Labour and Relations Court declared the TSC’s internship programme illegal.
The court found that the so-called “interns” are, in fact, fully trained and registered teachers, and as such, deserve the same treatment and benefits as their colleagues already on the PnP payroll. Despite this ruling, the TSC has continued to implement its internship programme, which it describes as an essential mechanism to address staffing shortages in schools nationwide.
For the 2025–2026 financial year, the TSC has been allocated Ksh 377 billion to cater for teachers’ salaries and allowances. Additionally, Ksh 7.2 billion has been earmarked for the stipend payments of intern teachers and the recruitment of another batch of 20,000 interns, further solidifying the Commission’s reliance on this programme to bridge staffing gaps.
The Teacher Internship Programme is formally described by the TSC as a structured, one-year non-remunerative training intended to enhance the competencies of newly registered, unemployed teachers.
Through mentorship, classroom exposure, and coaching, the programme aims to give interns a practical teaching experience, albeit under limited financial support. While the position is not a salaried one, JSS interns receive a modest monthly stipend of Ksh 20,000, which is subject to statutory deductions such as the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), Housing Levy, and National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
Upon successful completion of the internship period, teachers are issued with a certificate and are eligible to apply for advertised PnP positions. The TSC, in its recruitment criteria, has continued to favor intern teachers by awarding up to 50 marks in the interview score sheets for those with internship experience, regardless of the length of service.
In line with this, the TSC has recently advertised 2,014 replacement teaching positions, with 673 of these allocated to secondary schools, a key opportunity for current and former JSS interns to transition to permanent roles.
Qualified and interested candidates have been urged to submit their applications online through the official TSC application portal by the deadline on Monday, 19th May 2025, at midnight.
While the extension of internship contracts may bring temporary relief to the affected teachers, it also underscores broader systemic issues in teacher employment and education funding.
Many education stakeholders and teacher unions continue to challenge the extended use of internship terms, especially in the face of court rulings and growing frustration among teachers who feel exploited despite being qualified professionals.
As the debate continues, the fate of thousands of intern teachers remains uncertain, even as they return to classrooms in January 2025 for yet another year of service, hoping that this time, the promise of permanent employment will finally be fulfilled.
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