State allocates Sh13.4bn to confirm JSS interns as pressure on teachers’ pay dispute mounts

After months of uncertainty, thousands of intern teachers in Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) are set to be absorbed on permanent and pensionable terms, following a Sh13.4 billion allocation by the government.

The funding is part of the Sh358.2 billion allocated to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), which has scooped the largest share of the Sh702.7 billion education budget in the 2025/26 financial year.

An additional Sh1.3 billion has been set aside for the training of teachers under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), while Sh7.2 billion will go towards the recruitment of intern teachers.

A further Sh4.0 billion has been allocated to the Technical, Vocational Education Training and Entrepreneurship project.

Recently, Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said the government is targeting to recruit 24,000 more teachers by the end of the year, a move that will push the number of new hires under President William Ruto’s administration to 100,000.

“This is a testimony to President William Ruto’s commitment to education,” Bitok said.

He said 76,000 teachers have already been hired to support the implementation of the CBC across junior and secondary schools.

Growing discontent

However, the funding boost comes against a backdrop of growing discontent among teachers’ unions, who accuse the TSC of failing to respond to their salary proposals.

Despite extensive submissions, the unions say the 2025/26 budget contains no allocation for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), heightening concerns of a looming crisis in the sector.

“Key areas that are not funded at all in the 2025–2026 budget for the TSC include the financial requirement for the CBA that is under negotiation,” the commission’s director of finance, Cheptumo Ayabei, said during a presentation before the National Assembly Education Committee.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut), Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), and Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (Kusnet) say they have not received any feedback despite submitting new proposals months ago.

“We submitted our proposals months ago, but instead of engaging, the TSC continues to hide behind the ‘waiting for advice from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC)’ as an excuse,” Knut Deputy Secretary Hesbon Otieno said.

Basic salary increase

Knut is demanding a 60 per cent increase in basic salary and a 30 per cent rise in allowances over four years. The union also wants new teachers to start at Grade C1 instead of B5, promotion based on merit and experience, improved sick leave benefits, and a review of medical exit terms.

Kusnet Secretary-General James Torome said their union’s CBA proposals were acknowledged by the TSC in July 2024, but talks are yet to begin.

Kusnet is pushing for a 40 per cent salary increase for school heads in Grades D1 to D5 and a 50 per cent rise for teachers in Grades B5 to C5.

They also want a monthly risk allowance of Sh15,000, a yearly uniform allowance of Sh15,000, and a 50 per cent increase in other allowances.

The union further insists that any review of hardship allowances must be subjected to a court process.

TSC fully constituted

Kuppet Secretary-General Akelo Misori criticised the silence from the commission, saying there is no reason for delays given the current leadership structure.

“The commission is fully constituted, and what we now need is for the acting CEO, Evaleen Jesang Mitei, to initiate talks and ensure the process is seamlessly followed,” Misori said.

Kuppet is demanding a salary increment of between 30 and 70 per cent, alongside a 100 per cent increase in some allowances. It also proposes reducing the CBA negotiation cycle from four to two years for more frequent reviews.

With the current CBA set to expire in three weeks, the unions have warned that time is running out. They have threatened industrial action if talks do not begin immediately.

They argue that the last CBA was signed under financial constraints during the Covid-19 pandemic, but with the current economic recovery, teachers deserve better pay and improved working conditions.