The government intends to hire 70,000 relief teachers to minimise disruption of learning in public schools caused by the ongoing strike in a signal that it may be forced to replaced those on strike. Recruitment of the relief tutors comes at a time when the government is embroiled in legal battles with the teachers over a pay dispute.
In a notice dated September 29, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is calling on primary and secondary tutors to apply for jobs. TSC chief executive Nancy Macharia called on registered teachers aged below 45 years to submit their applications for the positions before Monday, October 5.
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Out of the intended recruitment of 70,000 relief teachers sought by the government, 50,000 tutors will be posted to primary schools while the remaining will be attached to secondary schools. “The teachers will be hired on a three-month contract and will thereafter be considered on priority basis for employment on permanent terms when vacancies arise,” said Ms Macharia.
The advert requires that applicants for primary school teacher positions must have P1 certificates while those seeking to be secondary tutors need to have a minimum of a Diploma in Education. “Successful applicants must not fill employment forms in more than one station as this will lead to disqualification,” the advert reads.
The public education sector has been in turmoil since the beginning of the new school term on August 31. The more than 288,060 public school teachers have boycotted work, demanding a pay increase.
The teachers were awarded the 50-60 per cent salary increase by the Employment and Labour Relations Court in June, but the TSC and the government have since appealed the ruling that is still pending at the Court of Appeal. The strike has paralysed the education sector in a crucial term when more than 1.4 million students are supposed to sit for national examinations.
Oral examinations for Form Four candidates started on Monday and will go on until October 6 before the start of theory papers on October 12. With fresh third-term dates, the government attempted to re-open the schools on Monday after the Employment and Labour Relations Court suspended the teachers’ strike for 90 days last Friday.
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