,Benefits JSS Intern Teachers Will Get in TSC's Permanent and Pensionable Jobs

Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has been allocated KSh 13.4 billion to convert Junior Secondary School (JSS) interns into permanent and pensionable employees
JSS interns currently receive a monthly stipend of KSh 20,000, reduced to KSh 17,000 after statutory deductions
JSS intern teachers will have higher salaries and get various allowances as well as health insurance cover

The National Assembly Education Committee is set to meet with the TSC to discuss the employment of 46,000 JSS interns and the promotion status of teachers in their 40s and 50s.

TSC CEO Nancy Macharia (l) has asked for more money to hire JSS intern teachers on permanent and pensionable terms. Picture of a teacher with pupils used for illustration. Photo: Getty Images/TSC.
Source: UGC

Parliament allocated TSC KSh 13.4 billion for the conversion of JSS intern teachers to permanent and pensionable employees.

However, TSC, led by CEO Nancy Macharia, has argued that the allocated amount is enough to hire all the JSS.

This budget shortfall means the teacher's service will not be able to meet the salaries and remunerations for the teachers under permanent and pensionable terms, hence the meeting with the parliamentary committee.

How much do JSS intern teachers earn?

Following the transition from the 8-4-4 education system to the 2-6-6-3, TSC hired 46,000 intern teachers to address the resulting shortage.

Those employed as JSS interns pocketed KSh 20,000 monthly stipends and took home KSh 17,000 after statutory deductions such as PAYE, NSSF, NHIF and Housing Levy, among others.

Notably, intern teachers are not entitled to any allowance or teachers' health insurance scheme.

How much JSS will earn if hired by TSC

The government has allocated KSh 13.4 billion to convert the JSS intern teachers from a one-year contract to a permanent and pensionable one.

If converted to permanent and pensionable employees, JSS intern teachers will start with a basic salary of KSh 32,000.

These teachers will also be entitled to other benefits, such as a house allowance, commuter allowance and health coverage. These allowances vary based on the location.

"Once you are confirmed now, you know stipend is different from salary. So it will move from KSh 17,000 to KSh 52,000. Now, I have not put it in terms of those who are in municipality areas, city allowances... For the primary teachers, it will go up to about KSh 26,000," Faith Koge, the national coordinator for JSS teachers, told Citizen TV.

Koge added that the parliament has to meet the TSC's budgetary deficit to allow it to hire all the 46,000 teachers.