Junior Secondary School (JSS) intern teachers in Kilifi County have threatened to down their tools if the government does not confirm them on a permanent and pensionable basis and compensate them for the period they have served as interns.

Addressing the media during a peaceful demonstration they held on Monday in Kilifi, the intern teachers accused their employer, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), of abuse and violating their rights.

 “What we are asking is for the government to confirm and compensate us for the time we have been under internship. We want TSC to respect the court’s ruling that internship is illegal,” Azani Ngumbao, a JSS intern teacher, said.

The court recently ruled that TSC’s internship program is illegal because giving internship positions to qualified teachers with teaching licences violates their rights to fair labour practice.

By Fred Odanga Azelwa.