The Teachers Service Commission has flagged as fake a letter purporting to invite applications for hiring of primary and Junior secondary intern teachers.
The letter indicated that the teacher employer was looking to hire 20,000 intern teachers - 18,000 for Junior secondary schools and 2,000 for Primary schools to facilitate the implementation of the competency-based curriculum.
It further purported to invite 26,000 senior teachers to fill permanent and pensionable letters effective July 15.
TSC has also flagged as fake a poster doing rounds on social media indicating that the Commission will not be able to pay 100,000 teachers their July salaries as a consequence of not passing the Finance Bill, 2024.
“Fake news alert! The Commission said in response to the two false publications.
The government has, however, admitted that plans to hire 46,000 JSS intern teachers now lie in limbo as a result of the withdrawn Finance Bill.
The National Treasury had proposed in the 2024-25 Budget the allocation of Sh10 billion for the absorption of the teachers on permanent and pensionable terms.
While announcing that he would not be assenting to the Finance Bill on Wednesday last week, President William Ruto confirmed that this now remains a pipe dream.
“The additional tax measures we had proposed in this year’s Finance Bill were for raising money to employ on a permanent basis all the 46,000 JSS interns, increase NG-CDF by Sh10 billion, increase the allocation to county governments by Sh15 billion,” he said in part.
While speaking in Parliament on June 20 during voting on the Bill, chair of the National Assembly Budget and Appropriation Committee Ndindi Nyoro said MPs would have to explain to their constituents and the teachers if the Bill flops.
“Hon Speaker, the JSS teachers, the 46,000 of them by letting this Bill pass will be given jobs under permanent and pensionable [terms]. But if by the wisdom of this House, by not giving the National Treasury the power for more revenue-raising measures Mr Speaker, all that will disappear,” he warned.
“Hon Speaker, if we don’t give the National Treasury the power for revenue-raising measures, it means, the people will be voting against the confirmation of the 46,000 interns, and the (MPs) will have ample time explaining to them how they voted against them getting permanent jobs.”