The Court of Appeal has shattered the hopes of 46,000 intern teachers who hoped to be hired on permanent and pensionable terms by the Teachers Service Commission.
Court of Appeal Justices Asike Makhandia, Sankale Ole Kantai, and Ngenye Macharia suspended the Employment and Labour Relations Court’s (ELRC) orders requiring the commission to convert the internships to permanent and pensionable terms.
TSC claimed in the application that Justice Byrum Ongaya’s orders had disrupted its operations because the funds needed to hire the intern teachers on permanent and pensionable terms had not been budgeted for.
“The rights of all learners in public schools underpinned under Articles 43 and 53 of the Constitution are on the verge of being violated as the Commission has no financial resources to on-board the 46,000 on permanent and pensionable terms and conditions,” argued TSC lawyer Allan Sitima.
The commission argued that the aggrieved intern teachers were bound to their contracts claiming that they willingly signed the crucial documents even though they were being considered for employment next year.
According to TSC, in the event its intended appeal is successful, then the case will have been rendered an academic exercise since it will have issued new contracts.
