Muturi hits out at Kuria as contracts for 8,000 interns expire

The fate of over 8,000 graduate interns hired on one-year contracts by government agencies and departments hangs in the balance as their tenure ends today.

Yesterday, Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi said the matter was under the Public Service Commission (PSC) and dismissed an earlier directive freezing their employment.

Muturi said his predecessor, Moses Kuria, “usurped imaginary powers” to stop employment in the public service, adding that the PSC was an independent body that should be left to do its job.

“I’ll not talk about the lifting of the ban on the recruitment and employment of the 8,000 graduate interns. This is the work of PSC that a CS should not interfere with,” he said.

He added, “These are some of the wrong pieces of advice the government was given, which I do not want to be party to because PSC is an independent body,” said Muturi.

Muturi was reacting to complaints raised by unionists and political leaders who want the government to absorb the interns whose one-year contracts have ended.

Kenya National Teacher Union official Dan Aloo said the government should reallocate funds to employ the graduate interns because they had acquired skills required for the jobs.

“We want the government to allocate more funds to employ more graduate interns who are in contract to reduce unemployment and address teacher shortages in the country,” said Aloo.

Mr Aloo said the government should come up with a coherent explanation on the fate of the graduates  to avert industrial actions similar to those that paralysed several sectors.

In the recent past, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the Ministry of Education have issued contradicting information about the absorption of intern teachers.

Whereas the TSC has promised to directly employ all the 46,000 intern teachers on a permanent basis, Education CS Mr. Julius Ogambo insists that they must apply for the jobs like others.

Graduate teacher internship is a one-year program targeting unemployed registered teachers, equipping them with experiences through mentorship and practical teaching experience.

In December, the TSC advertised replacement jobs and opened the doors for intern teachers to apply for the 8,707 replacement slots. Yesterday, CS Muturi said: “As a lawyer I believe things should be done in accordance with the law,” adding that PSC should be left to do its work.

“I will not interfere with the Public Service Commission mandate. It was not right for my predecessor to misadvise the government to suspend the recruitment of civil servants,” he said.

Last year, Kuria directed PSC to suspend all ongoing recruitment of civil servants, arguing future hiring in the public sector must be justified.

Kuria said the freeze in compliance with the government’s directive to reduce the wage bill.