Kenya’s teacher internship programme has expanded rapidly in recent years, but growing concerns suggest that the model may not be sustainable long term. The system, designed to absorb unemployed teachers gradually, is now under scrutiny for its financial, ethical and structural weaknesses.
With 20,000 current Junior School interns and plans to recruit 24,000 more, critics argue that the programme relies too heavily on temporary labour to fix what is fundamentally a permanent staffing problem.
The requirement that interns serve two years before absorption could create a cycle where new unemployed teachers continuously join the system while others wait in line for confirmation. This backlog may grow indefinitely, especially with rising enrolment and limited funding.
Financial sustainability is another concern. Each recruitment cycle requires billions in budget allocation. As population growth increases demand, the government may struggle to maintain the pace.
Ethical concerns also persist. Interns handle full-time workloads at minimal pay, leading to accusations of exploitation and labour rights violations.
Education experts warn that unless the government restructures the programme, Kenya risks normalising low-pay, temporary contracts in a critical sector that requires stability, professionalism and long-term commitment.
Sustainability, they argue, will require a balanced approach—mixing permanent hiring with targeted internship support, improving pay, harmonising policies and fully funding TSC.
