Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa has called on the Teachers Service Commission to reinstate sacked intern Junior secondary school teachers.
The teacher employer dispatched termination letters on June 10 to 742 JSS teachers on grounds that they absconded duty to take part in the JSS teachers’ strike.
"In view of the above, the Commission has decided to terminate your Internship engagement with effect from June 6, 2024, because you engaged in acts of professional misconduct in that you deserted duty with effect from May 13, 2024, to date while engaged as an Intern teacher," the letters read in part.
TSC accused some of the teachers for proving unsatrisfactory reasons to the show-course letters sent on May 13 and said some of the teachers never bothered to explain themselves.
Governor Barasa said the teachers are victims of cirmcumstances since picketing is a right recognised by the Constitution.
“On behalf of Council of Governors, I demand reinstatement of the JSS teachers because picketing is their right," he said.
"Doctors had a strike, we had a conversation and we unconditionally brought them back so we want the same spirit to apply to JSS teachers,” Barasa said.
The governor was speaking when he attended the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Mumias Branch AGM at Mumias Complex Primary School.
The county boss faulted the teacher employer for what he termed as intimidation.
According to TSC, 10,348 teachers were absent from work from May 13 but only 9,606 teachers responded to the show-course letters within the two-week period.
“The Commission has decided to terminate your Internship engagement with effect from June 6, 2024, on the grounds that you engaged in acts of professional misconduct in that you deserted duty with effect from May 13, 2024, to date while engaged as an Intern teacher," TSC told the affected teachers.
Barasa called for a change in employment terms and asked the Commission to do away with contractual employment for the JSS teachers.
“Moving ahead we shall also demand they are employed on permanent and pensionable terms because when you look at infrastructure, most of our schools are not well equipped and JSS teachers are really working hard, “ Barasa said.
According to approximations by TSC, it would cost taxpayers Sh30 billion to hire all 46,000 intern teachers on permanent and pensionable terms by July 1, 2024.
However, Treasury CS Njuguna Ndung’u allocated Sh13.4 billion in the 2024-25 Budget for employment of Junior Secondary School teachers on permanent and pensionable terms in the 2024-25 Budget approximations.
The dismissal of the teachers came just two days after they called off a nationwide strike, which commenced on April 17, to allow passage of the Budget.
Meanwhile, Governor Barasa expressed his commitment towards improving the education sector in Kakamega county.
In the current financial year, the county government built 60 ECDE centres- one in every ward at a cost of Sh274 million, employed ECDE teachers on pensionable terms and availed tuition fees to 925 centres.
Barasa also revealed that the county government will shortly be launching a school feeding programme across all the ECD centres in the 60 wards.