The Government is set to recruit 22 additional intern teachers to be posted in selected primary schools in Nyeri to address staff shortage in the area.
The Teachers Service Commission had set September 27 this year as the deadline for those interested in applying for the vacancies in a move expected to address disparity in teacher-pupil ratio in the country.
Nyeri TSC Director, Mr Elijah Omwenga, told the press this morning that the shortlisting for the applicants might start as early as next week.
He has also confirmed that the official online portal has been closed and therefore those who had not yet applied for the jobs were time barred.
“The application portal is now closed. We are now waiting for communication from our head office on the merit list which we are anticipating to begin next week,” Omwenga has told reporters this morning.
A total of 1,995 teachers for both primary and secondary schools are set to benefit from the one-year contract which is subject to renewal based on the TSC recommendations.
The move is also seen as an ideal platform for addressing the unemployment rate in the country among trained teachers who completed college years ago but were yet to be absorbed by the government due to budgetary constraints.
The programme, set to run for one year, will see 1,038 and 957 posts go to primary and secondary schools respectively across the country.
To be considered for the internship programme, one must be a Kenyan citizen, a registered teacher with TSC, a holder of a P1 Certificate for primary schools and a minimum of Diploma in Education Certificate for secondary schools. The applicant must also be in possession of professional certificates.
The applicants should not have been in employment or internship with the Commission, be ready to be posted to any public educational institution in Kenya and must have a personal accident insurance to cover for personal risks during the internship period.
Statistics show that Kenya’s pupil -teacher ratio stands at 31:1 compared to the global recommended figure of 22:1.The country has been experiencing a teachers’ shortage with a deficit standing at 103,931 teachers in public schools as of January this year according to statistics released by TSC CEO Dr Nancy Macharia.
The employment of intern teachers is expected to help bridge this gap which has resulted from loss of staff exiting the service either through natural attrition or by disciplinary action.
The new arrangement will come as a big relief for public schools as the majority of them have been struggling with jam-packed classes after the government began implementing the 100 per cent transition program for learners from Primary to Secondary schools.
Nyeri has recorded a 96 per cent transition rate to secondary schools for pupils who sat for last year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education, according to the County Director of Education Mrs Sabina Aroni.
Speaking at the Governor’s Office last month during the disbursement of Sh40 million school bursaries, Aroni also directed sub county education officials to help in tracing the remaining children who were yet to join Form One.
Aroni said the government was still committed to ensuring the attainment of 100 percent transition rate and that no child would miss out in joining form one due to lack of school fees.
“Ninety-six of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education candidates of Nyeri have been placed in Secondary Schools and 98 per cent of them can be accounted for. But there is a 2 per cent we are not able to account for,” she announced.
“We are kindly requesting that if you see any of these children who are at home and have not gone to school be identified through our sub County Directors of Education and the Deputy County Commissioners to see that these children are taken to school,” she added.
The official however reported a glaring under enrolment in the number of students joining sub county schools as compared to county schools.
She partly attributed the challenge to child labour and the rising number of cases for children taking to substance abuse and urged both parents and relevant stakeholders to partner in addressing the challenge.
By Samuel Maina and Ann Ngure
