Kuppet Demands TSC Hire And Compensate 44,000 Intern Teachers After Court Blow
Education Updated: 23 March 2026 16:48 EAT
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has escalated its demands to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), calling for the immediate employment on permanent and pensionable terms and compensation of more than 44,000 intern teachers following a decisive ruling by the Court of Appeal of Kenya.
In its judgment, the appellate court declared the internship programme unconstitutional, illegal and exploitative, affirming that the policy violated labour rights by subjecting fully trained and registered teachers to inferior terms despite assigning them full teaching responsibilities in public schools across the country.
The judges found that the internship arrangement effectively created a parallel workforce where teachers performed identical duties as permanently employed staff but received significantly lower stipends and lacked access to critical benefits, protections and career progression opportunities guaranteed under Kenyan law.
The ruling directly impacts more than 44,000 junior secondary school intern teachers recruited to bridge staffing gaps during the rollout of the Competency-Based Curriculum, many of whom have served continuously for up to two years under the contested framework.
Following the decision, KUPPET has insisted that all affected teachers must be absorbed into the mainstream teaching workforce under permanent and pensionable contracts without further delay, arguing that their prolonged service under the internship model amounted to disguised employment.
The union is also pushing for comprehensive compensation, including payment of salary differentials between the internship stipends and standard entry-level teacher salaries, as well as benefits and allowances they would have earned had they been formally employed from the outset.
The TSC now faces a complex policy and financial challenge, as implementing the court directive would require substantial additional funding to convert the interns into permanent staff, while failure to act risks further legal exposure and disruption within the education sector.
Education stakeholders warn that any delay in resolving the matter could destabilize learning in junior secondary schools, where intern teachers form a significant portion of the workforce, intensifying pressure on the government to urgently align teacher recruitment practices with constitutional and labour standards.
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FELIX MAKONA
FACT FINDER AND DATA DRIVEN JOURNALIST. DATA MINING AT IT'S BEST. GET FACTS RANGING FROM MATTERS DISABILITY AND INCLUSION, POLITICS, ECONOMY, SPORTS AND GENERAL NEWS AROUND THE WORLD