Anxiety has gripped over 44,000 intern teachers after the Court of Appeal ruled that the internship program is illegal. While the commission still has a legal rebuttal window, the probability of those interns being sacked is almost zero, even in the absence of that litigation window. And here is why:
Photo: A collage of Acting TSC Ceo and TSC offices.
Credit :TSC
Internship is a gateway to employment...
The internship program, in its original form, is supposed to impart practical skills to future employees across different sectors of the government. The Public Service Commission has been running this internship program since time immemorial. However, the internship program at the Teacher Service Commission is one of a kind. It is not a normal internship program where people gain skills and are then released from the system after their period has elapsed. In TSC, the internship program is a gateway to permanent employment by the commission. So anyone employed under the internship program in TSC is already halfway into the job. Sacking them would therefore go against the very essence of the internship.
Interns are CBC engines...
And remember, TSC needs the interns more than the interns need TSC. This is a program designed to bridge not only unemployment but also the teacher shortage in schools. We all know that interns are essentially teachers on contract. They are there to serve the commission in ensuring continuity in our education system, especially now with the rollout of the junior school level under the CBC curriculum. So sacking them is not something realistic.
Political promise at stake..
The internship program is more than just a session where prospective employees are equipped with practical job skills—it is also a political milestone. When this administration came into power, the government promised to employ over 100,000 teachers. Most of the teachers employed so far have been drawn from the pool of interns. The government operates on the assumption that all teachers under TSC, whether on permanent terms or internship, are part of its workforce.
The political wild card here is simple: the more teachers you have, the more political mileage you gain. So the government has ensured that these interns transition into permanent employment once the internship period is done. The narrative out there is that the Teacher Service Commission has employed teachers—few people even care whether that employment is permanent or contractual.
Junior Schools will be hit severely...
As mentioned earlier, the Teacher Service Commission needs these teachers more than they need it. If they were to be axed suddenly, as some suggest, continuity in the system would be severely affected. The majority—indeed about 99%—of these interns are currently deployed in junior schools, where they are bridging the critical teacher shortage.
Sacking interns is not a option...
The government cannot sack these teachers without damaging the welfare of learners. It must find a way to retain them in the system, whether on permanent terms or within a restructured internship framework. The bottom line is that the system must be preserved, especially if the goal is to ensure continuity in our education sector.
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