Thousands of intern teachers who have spent years campaigning for job security finally received the news they had been waiting for on Thursday, after Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi announced that the government had committed Sh13.1 billion to convert all 44,000 intern teachers into permanent and pensionable employees.
Mbadi made the announcement while presenting the 2026/27 Budget Statement in the National Assembly, framing the move as part of a broader strategy to address teacher shortages and bring an end to a programme that has drawn growing controversy over pay and working conditions.
“I’m proposing Sh4.9 billion to be provided for conversion of 20,000 intern teachers into permanent and pensionable terms from January 2027. Further, the newly recruited 24,000 intern teachers will be converted into permanent and pensionable terms in July 2027,” Mbadi told Parliament.
The announcement is a significant relief for teachers who have long argued that they shoulder the same responsibilities as their permanently employed colleagues while earning a monthly stipend of just Sh20,000, which translates to roughly Sh17,000 after statutory deductions.
The conversion will happen in two phases. The first batch of 20,000 teachers will transition in January 2027, backed by Sh4.9 billion in Treasury funding. The remaining 24,000, who were recruited in January this year, will follow in July 2027, supported by a further Sh8.2 billion allocation.
The internship programme was launched by the Teachers Service Commission in 2021, initially absorbing around 28,300 newly qualified teachers. It expanded considerably in 2023 as the government rolled out Junior Secondary Schools under the Competency-Based Education curriculum, creating a surge in demand for teaching staff.
The programme has been at the centre of legal battles. In February 2026, the Court of Appeal declared it discriminatory and unconstitutional, ruling that paying intern teachers less for the same work violated fair labour practices. The TSC appealed the ruling, and the Supreme Court issued stay orders in April 2026, allowing the programme to continue pending the outcome of that appeal. Thursday’s budget commitment now signals a policy path forward regardless of how the legal process concludes.
Mbadi also defended the administration’s record on teacher recruitment, saying the pace of hiring under the current government far exceeded that of any predecessor.
“By the time we reach next year, we would have employed 116,000 teachers. If you put it in terms of averages, over 20,000 teachers per year,” he said, adding that no previous government had hired more than 10,000 teachers annually.
The education sector received the largest allocation in the national budget at Sh784.5 billion, representing 26.4 percent of total ministerial spending. The Teachers Service Commission alone will receive Sh424 billion, the biggest share within the sector.
For thousands of young educators waiting in uncertainty, Thursday’s announcement represents more than a budget line. It is a long-overdue promise of stability.
