Murang’a Junior Secondary School teachers staged protests, demanding employment of the 44,000 intern teachers on permanent and pensionable terms.
The aggrieved teachers decried poor pay and lack of job security, saying the current terms of employment are detrimental to their well-being.
Speaking during the protest, Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Murang’a branch Executive Secretary, Thomas Waweru, termed the continued employment of teachers under internship for extended periods as demeaning and against existing labour laws.
“The prolonged internship is exposing teachers to suffering and the Sh17000 salary is not enough,” he noted
“Entry level teachers earn about Sh38000, these intern teachers are earning Sh17000 and that is modern day slavery,” Waweru added.
He also called for autonomy of Junior Secondary Schools, saying it would improve working conditions for JSS teachers.
Murang’a KUPPET Chairman Suleiman Salim faulted the union’s national leadership for failing to advocate for teachers’ rights, insisting that this remains their core mandate.
“We want to express our dissatisfaction with the moves made by the government through the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and sadly together with our national union officials,” he stated.
“We want to remind the national KUPPET officials that they were elected to represent the teachers,” he added.
At the same time, the branch KUPPET JSS Secretary Polycarp Mutugi underscored the need for autonomy, noting that under the 2-6-3-3 education system, Junior Secondary School is an independent level and should be treated as such.
“I am dissatisfied with the government putting us in the comprehensive structure, the 2-6-3-3 education system puts JSS as an independent level,” he stated.
Meanwhile, one of the intern teachers, Joan Mugweru, lamented that the Sh17,000 shillings paid to intern teachers is insufficient to meet basic needs.
“At the end of the month we don’t get to enjoy the stipend because trying to budget for the sh. 17000 is stressful,” Mugweru noted.
She called on the government, through the Teachers Service Commission to improve teachers’ pay to enable them to afford essential necessities and live dignified lives.
by Purity Mugo
