Knut opposes internship proposal for teachers

All teachers joining the service will be required to undergo a two-year internship before they are formally employed by the government in a move that has been strongly resisted by their union.

The Taskforce on Secondary School Fees in Kenya has made the proposal in its report, noting that teachers will be considered for employment subject to satisfactory performance.

“All teachers joining the profession should first be engaged as interns by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) on probation terms before they are employed,” states the report.

The taskforce, which is chaired by the former Education assistant minister Kilemi Mwiria, points out that the move will help in rating the suitability of the teachers based on their performance at the end of the probation period.

But the Kenya National of Union of Teachers (Knut) has opposed the move, saying the reason they have been going on strikes was because they were agitating for their members to be placed on permanent employment once they complete their studies.

Knut chairman Mudzo Nzili said a committee should be formed to determine whether it was appropriate for TSC to place teachers on the two-year internship.

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Teachers’ unions have been militant in lobbying for part-time teachers to be fully employed. They have also opposed other proposals like putting members on performance contracts like in the rest of the civil service.

The union also differed with the report on the recommendation of merging schools with low enrolment, pointing out that the move was likely to inconvenience students as some of them would have to travel long distances to get to the nearest learning institution.

The committee led by Dr Mwiria, a former university lecturer, says merging of schools with low student numbers will ensure that teachers are utilised efficiently.

The taskforce also proposes huge cuts in schools fees for public secondary schools by more than a half, a measure that will come as a reprieve to most parents who are grappling with increased cost of living.

If adopted, national schools will now charge parents Sh41,574 after the government capitation of Sh10,265 per student, once the new guidelines become effective.

Under the existing fees structure, some national schools charge as high as Sh120,000 per student. The proposed fees structure, further recommends that students attending day schools should pay Sh13,265 after the government capitation of Sh10,265.

The recommendations of the taskforce will guide the ministry on setting the optimum secondary school fees amid concerns that the current rates are locking the poor from post-primary education.

The report was released on Monday in Nairobi in an event officiated by the Education secretary Jacob Kaimenyi.