Treasury allocates Ksh 4.9B to hire 20,000 intern teachers on permanent terms
Treasury allocates Ksh 4.9B to hire 20,000 intern teachers on permanent terms
The National Treasury has allocated Ksh4.92 billion to employ 20,000 intern teachers to permanent and pensionable positions, effective January 1, 2027.
The allocation is included in the national budget for the 2026/2027 financial year and comes at a time of rising tensions in the education sector, including an ongoing standoff between Junior Secondary School (JSS) intern teachers and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
Over the past few months, educators have demanded that 44,000 intern teachers be confirmed as permanent and pensionable, arguing that the current internship system is unfair.
The dispute has sparked industrial action over the past few months, disrupting the opening of public secondary schools nationwide and raising concerns among parents.
Despite mounting demands from teachers, the Supreme Court overturned a Court of Appeal ruling that had declared the internship programme unconstitutional. The court issued an interim stay order on April 30, allowing the TSC to continue implementing the programme pending the full hearing and determination of the case.
TSC Acting Chief Executive Officer Evaleen Mitei implored striking intern teachers to halt their industrial action, saying that there was no funding to confirm all the teachers and that a sudden end to the programme would have been detrimental to the interests of learners.
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The commission added that it is working with the Treasury to secure funding for permanent appointments.
In response, teachers intensified their protests on May 5 and submitted a formal petition demanding the immediate permanent employment of all interns, arguing that they perform the same duties as teachers on permanent and pensionable terms despite earning significantly lower pay.
The interns decried low monthly stipends of Ksh17,000 and pointed to recent graduates that are being employed directly on permanent contracts instead of those who have served for more than a year.
Although the budget allocation signals a possible financial breakthrough, it caters to less than half of the interns currently awaiting confirmation and introduces a longer transition period than what teachers have been demanding.
The 2026/2027 budget also allocates Ksh406.6 billion to the TSC for salaries and related expenses, including medical insurance.
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