KUPPET urges TSC to compensate 44,000 intern teachers after court ruling

From Left -The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) SG Akelo Misori and chairman Omboko Milemba at the Union HQs on March 23, 2026. [Edward Kilimo, Standard]

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has called on the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to  compensate them for the years they have worked under internship contracts.

The union also demands the immediate employment of more than 44,000 intern teachers on permanent and pensionable (PnP) terms.

The demand follows a recent ruling by the Court of Appeal, which declared the internship programme for teachers illegal and unconstitutional, upholding an earlier decision by the Employment and Labour Relations Court.

According to KUPPET Secretary General Akelo Misori, the ruling effectively means that the thousands of intern teachers currently serving in public schools are operating without a

legal framework.

“Following the judgment by the Court of Appeal last week, the employment contracts of 44,000 intern teachers currently serving in the government have been declared

unconstitutional, illegal, null, and void,” Misori said.

He noted that the appellate court upheld the ELRC’s earlier finding that the TSC has no legal mandate to hire teachers on internship terms.

“By upholding the judgment of the Employment and Labour Relations Court, the superior court has held unambiguously that internship contracts by the TSC have no place in the law. The TSC’s only power is to hire teachers on permanent and pensionable terms,” Misori added.

The internship programme was introduced as part of government efforts to address the shortage of teachers in schools while managing limited budgetary resources.

However, the programme has faced criticism from unions and teachers who argue that interns perform the same duties as fully employed teachers but receive lower pay and fewer benefits.

KUPPET says many of the intern teachers have been working for more than three years without proper employment procedures, exposing them to risks while carrying out their duties.

“Effectively, the 44,000 intern teachers in service are operating in a legal vacuum. We urge the TSC to stop wasting time in court corridors and explore a realistic way out of the crisis,” Misori said.

He urged the commission to comply with the court ruling and move swiftly to regularize the employment of the teachers.

“The only way out of the problem is to upgrade the teachers’ employment to permanent and pensionable terms and compensate them at appropriate scales for all work done since the ELRC judgement in 2024,” he said.

Misori also called on Parliament to intervene by allocating funds in a supplementary budget to facilitate the absorption of the teachers.

“We demand that Parliament make immediate provision in the supplementary budget to employ teachers legally,” he said.

KUPPET Chairman Omboko Milemba also raised concerns over the welfare of intern teachers, noting that they do not enjoy benefits such as medical cover despite carrying the same workload as teachers on permanent terms.

“The medical scheme is excluding intern teachers who are doing the same workload as those on PnP,” Milemba said.

He cited an incident where an intern teacher involved in an  accident struggled to access medical support due to a lack of cover.

“One of our teachers who was involved in an accident was an intern and the family had to look for other ways of financing his medication,” he said.