A stern warning to intern teachers by KNUT Secretary oyuu.

Kenya National Union of Teachers secretary general Collins Oyuu has said there are people inciting intern Junior Secondary School teachers employed on a one year contract to hold demonstrations.

JSS intern teachers have over the past week been decrying and gathering to hold peaceful demos seeking better terms of contract.

“If you want to conduct a demonstration come out to the streets. Don’t misuse these young teachers. We want to advise our colleagues in the other union movements to be steadfast and forthright in handling teachers. And they must be very sincere,” Oyuu said.

The Knut boss spoke on Sunday during a National Executive Council meeting at the head office.

Oyuu said there is also a group of senior school principals signing recommendation letters to KUPPET for teachers who ought to be in Knut.

“Who gave room for this Principal from a senior school to come and sign a form for a teacher in the comprehensive school? We are watching and we shall not allow you to muscle the law,” he said.

“How for instance do you engage an intern who is not employed as permanent and pensionable to run into the streets? I was talking to some of them this morning, they don’t even know what they are doing.”

Oyuu said what the interns know is that somebody came and incited them to go the streets.

“And I warned them, go to the streets and you shall no longer be an intern. What will you do?” Oyuu said.

He urged the interns to appear before their union representatives and present their grievances.

He said only then will registered trade unionists come out on behalf of the interns to voice their dissatisfaction with their contracts.

“I want you to watch this space. Right from Monday and the climax shall be the annual delegates conference addressing the plight of the interns and addressing the plight of comprehensive school teachers in matters engagement with trade unions and where they should lie within the law,” he said.

Oyuu said the Teachers Service Commission employed a large number of teachers under the arrangements of interns to address teacher shortages at all levels.

He said most of these teachers are lapsing their contractual terms and do not know what to do or how the commission will handle their cases.

“To be precise, the contract of the first cohort of 20,000 JSS intern teachers is coming to an end on  December 31, 2023. Yet the commission has not made any communication to them on what will happen,” he said.

Another cohort of 1000 primary school teachers is ending on April 1, 2024, and the other cohort of 450 secondary school teachers is coming to an end on the same date.

The contract of the second cohort of 18,000 Junior Secondary School teachers is coming to an end on September 1, 2024, the same applies to 2,000 teachers on the same terms in primary schools.

“Knut demands that in the ongoing review of the code of regulations of Teachers; clauses 56 and 58 be removed because they contravene International Labour Conventions and Laws and also the Labour Relations Act, 2007 clause 5. (1),” Oyuu said.

The union further said the fact that the teachers on contracts have served well and with distinction, the commission should without subjecting them to any other prejudice, convert them to permanent and pensionable upon the expiry of their contractual period.

Oyuu said the teachers must be given priority in the impending hiring of teachers in 2024.