Over 20,000 intern teachers in limbo as TSC budget falls short

The hopes of over 20,000 intern teachers have been thrown into uncertainty as the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) revealed it cannot confirm their positions due to a Sh3.5 billion budget deficit.

Though these teachers were hired in the current financial year, they remain stuck in temporary roles, their futures uncertain as the Commission grapples with severe funding limitations.

The situation has sparked concerns from lawmakers and education stakeholders, questioning both the Commission’s financial planning and its hiring policies.

The funding shortfall came to light during a session before the National Assembly Education Committee, where TSC Director of Finance, Cheptumo Ayabei, admitted that the Commission lacks the resources to absorb the interns into permanent roles.

Despite the intention to regularize their employment, Ayabei made it clear that the shortage means the teachers will continue in their current roles, possibly for up to two more years.

"As we speak that funding has not been provided so these teachers will continue to serve for the next two years or otherwise advised so there’s provision to recruit these teachers but we are going to recruit 20,000 teachers this year," said Ayabei.

A recent court ruling had also directed that intern teachers be confirmed within a year, a mandate now under threat.

Ayabei stated that the best the Commission can hope for is to meet the deadline by December 2025, depending on future funding within the 2025/2026 financial year.

The decision to hire a new batch of interns while leaving thousands unconfirmed triggered sharp criticism from MPs. Baringo North MP Benjamin Makilap challenged the Commission’s priorities.

"When you were recruiting the teachers, was it one year or two years because you can’t bring before us a budget that you want to recruit new intern teachers, yet there’s a backlog," he said.

He insisted that the one-year deadline must be respected, and intern teachers confirmed by December 2025.

The committee also brought up the exclusion of trained teachers over the age of 45, many of whom are still unemployed despite meeting qualifications.

Teso South MP Mary Emase raised the issue of these teachers who are approaching retirement without ever being given a chance to serve in the public education system.

"I don’t know if there’s an affirmative action to recruit teachers who are over 45 years of age and they haven’t been absorbed even as interns because these are teachers who have been trained and are already approaching retirement age and have not been employed," Emase stated.

Committee Chair Julius Melly echoed this concern and called out the age discrimination evident in the Commission’s recruitment plans.

"We have a lot of aging teachers’ population who haven’t been recruited into the system, and many of them have family responsibilities. You can’t say that you will not recruit a teacher aged 45 years just because of his age, any teacher can be recruited up to 2 years of recruitment," he said.

Luanda MP Dick Maungu pressed the Commission to make age a central consideration in recruitment, suggesting that older teachers be prioritized to correct past neglect.

"Why don’t you do a target recruitment based on age?  If an individual is above 45 years, it will be easier you will morph them up. These aged teachers are actually Kenyans and they are perishing, we can actually set the minimum age of recruitment so that we conclusively deal with this matter," he proposed.

Makilap called for access to full data on all registered teachers.

He argued that only with accurate figures can Parliament and the Commission make sound decisions on budget allocation and recruitment.

"The TSC should give us data of registered teachers with registration certificate by TSC so that we can quantify the numbers and know the amount of resources that will be required to recruit these teachers," he said.

Ayabei maintained that all plans to absorb intern teachers hinge on available resources.

"The conversion of teachers is all based on funding, if we get the funding, we convert them into permanent and pensionable. We did engage National Treasury and because of fiscal space and constraints, we were not given provision for conversion," he said.

The financial strain doesn’t end with intern teachers.

The Commission is also staring at a Sh5.71 billion shortfall that may disrupt the medical insurance scheme and implementation of the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

Director of Legal, Labour and Industrial Action Cavin Anyuor warned that the National Treasury is yet to provide a clear plan for funding the CBA set to begin in July 2025.

"The area which has not been funded is the CBA, although we are still negotiating the CBA, but we have written to the National Treasury to consider, because the CBA that we have is ending on 30th June 2025 and a new one should commence of first July," said Anyuor.

As the financial pressure mounts, the Commission finds itself under intense scrutiny, with lawmakers demanding transparency, fairness, and immediate solutions to protect the future of thousands of teachers and uphold the integrity of the education system.