A Kenyan intern teacher has taken TSC to court over the controversial extension of internship contracts from 12 to 24 months, sparking nationwide debate on labour rights and education policy.
A new legal confrontation is unfolding within Kenya’s education sector after an intern teacher filed a petition seeking to overturn the Teachers Service Commission’s (TSC) extension of internship terms from one year to two years. The case, lodged at the Nairobi Employment and Labour Relations Court, has reignited long-standing concerns over the treatment, remuneration, and career progression of thousands of teachers engaged under the internship programme.
The petitioner, Nehemiah Kipkorir, through his legal representatives Mugeria, Lempaa & Kariuki Advocates, argues that TSC’s decision to stretch the internship contract to 24 months was executed without public participation and violates multiple constitutional provisions. According to him, the extension disregards principles of fairness, transparency, equality, and labour rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
Kipkorir contends that the decision was arbitrarily imposed, lacking the essential consultation required under Article 10 of the Constitution. He insists that TSC overstepped its mandate by employing individuals under a category not expressly defined within its constitutional authority. This, he says, undermines the role and independence of the Commission.
In his petition, Kipkorir further claims that the extension was influenced by external directives — notably a recent pronouncement by the President — which he argues contradicts Article 249. This Article protects independent commissions from control or influence by the Executive branch. The legislated autonomy of TSC, he notes, is essential for fair management of human resource matters in education.
The petition also calls for an immediate transition of all interns who have completed 12 months of service into permanent and pensionable terms, stating that they have already fulfilled the contractual obligations initially agreed upon. Additionally, he is seeking compensation for what he describes as blatant violation of their labour and human dignity rights.
This legal move is expected to have far-reaching implications. Currently, nearly 20,000 Junior School interns are working under the extended contract, many of whom have repeatedly raised concerns about low remuneration, lack of allowances, workload, and job insecurity. Their monthly stipend stands at Sh20,000 before statutory deductions, a figure teachers’ unions and rights groups argue is far below the value of their service.
Human rights groups have also weighed in. The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), through its Deputy Education Director Cornelius Oduor, criticized the prolonged internship arrangement as exploitative and contrary to court guidance. Oduor noted that courts have previously highlighted the illegality of categorizing fully trained and licensed teachers as interns, asserting that such practices undermine professional dignity.
The Kenya Junior School Teachers Association (Kejusta) chairperson, James Odhiambo, once an intern himself, described the two-year internship as deeply unfair. He highlighted that interns perform identical duties to permanent staff but earn significantly less and lack standard employment benefits. He condemned the practice as a modern form of professional injustice entrenched within public service.
The controversy follows President William Ruto’s recent announcement that Junior School intern teachers will only secure permanent and pensionable positions after serving two full internship years. The President defended the policy as necessary due to a massive teacher shortage, noting that Kenya has over 300,000 trained teachers without formal employment.
However, education stakeholders argue that this approach creates systemic inequality and delays meaningful career progression. Junior School alone requires over 72,000 additional teachers to meet current teaching demands under the changing Competency-Based Curriculum.
As the case moves through court, the education sector braces for a decision that could reshape staffing policies, contractual structures, and labour standards for the teaching profession. The ruling may ultimately determine whether the internship model as currently designed is sustainable — or whether Kenya must reconsider its entire strategy for teacher recruitment and retention.
