Teacher Service Commission has continued to show more JSS interns the exit door despite the castigation. Last week, TSC made the bold decision discontinue the services of over 700 interns nationwide for professional misconduct and it seems they are not yet done. Today ten more teachers had their services terminated in Kisii County
Photo courtesy.
JSS teachers, emboldened by the labor court decision to declare the controversial internship program illegal, staged nationwide demos demanding employment on Permanent and Pensionable terms. The seemingly well organized industrial action was sustained for nearly three weeks sending shock waves to the TSC offices.
Two weeks later, a section of JSS lobby group 'ended' it and called on teachers to return to work without qualms of possible victimization. This was after 'signing' a Return to Work Formula brokered by KUPPET. One of the consensus was non-victimization of the those who missed school ostensibly due to their participation in the picketting. TSC was therefore supposed to withdraw the show cause letters they had issued to a nearly ten thousand educators. Well, it seems that was nothing to go by as a few days some 742 tutors were met with the employers axe.
One of the victims who sought anonymity lamented the fashion in which she was handled.
"I was just instructed to remain at home without any documented reason."
"Am now in dillema not knowing what will next. " she spoke emotively with one of the newsrooms in the country.
Although the intern didn't expressly said to have participated, the shocker seems to being meted to those who apparently stayed away from school for one reason or the other during the opening two weeks of second term.
The Kisii TSC county leadership is quoted saying the matter of JSS interns dismissal is being handled at the Headquarters and as such no further comments can made.
TSC has faced widespread backlash especially from KUPPET and politicians. KUPPET which was on the forefront in solidarity with interns has threatened to go court as well as calling a strike to pressure the employer to rescind its unpalatable decision.
Senator Samson Cherargei in his press conference at Parliament Buildings called out the Teachers employer for apparently using unorthodox ploy of contract termination to fix their prefered individuals ahead of confirmation to Permanent and Pensionable terms of JSS teachers. National Treasury has allocated 13.4 billion towards confirmation of JSS interns in its budget statement for the 2024/25 financial year.
As the push and pull countinues, the suffering is being meted on the individual teachers who may be forced to go back to the drawing board and chat their alternative survival mode unless there's an about turn from Upper hill.
Comments