After advertising over 11,500 teaching jobs, TSC has given a public notice that will not go well with the new teachers.
“Please note, to qualify for appointment on permanent and pensionable terms of service, a candidate should be eligible to serve for a minimum of 10 continuous years, effective from the date of first appointment,” reads the ridiculous notice.
This notice has sparked a storm in the teaching profession, just a few days after the commission advertised 6,100 and 5,474 jobs for secondary and primary schools respectively.
Some critics have interpreted the announcement to mean that the probation period has been extended from 6 months to 10 years.
Following the announcement, the National Union of Teachers (KNUT) stated on Thursday that the 10-year probation period violates the labor laws.
Here are 8 consequences of a 10-year probation of teachers:
- It will affect only new teachers beginning with the current recruitment drive
- The first group to be affected by the new regulation will be eligible for promotion from September 2030 at the earliest (According to the Nation Media). For one to qualify for promotion, he must be employed under permanent and pensionable terms.
- The six months’ probation period remains in limbo. Teachers have always been confirmed to serve on permanent and pensionable basis after six months of service. Immediately after the six months, the teachers are eligible for all benefits offered by the employer. With the new announcement, those benefits will be suspended for 10 years.
- Teachers will not qualify for promotions, administrative positions and other career development benefits before the completion of 10 years.
However, we think that this rule only applies to people who are not eligible to work for 10 years, the 45-year-olds who will retire after 10 years.
- TSC looks to limit the eligibility age for permanent and pensionable terms of service to 45 years. If the teacher is not able to serve for more than 10 years from the first appointment, then the teacher will not be eligible.
- Thus, when the six-month probation period is over, teachers with over 45 years will not be eligible for permanent and pensionable employment because they will be able to serve for less than 10 years before retirement.
What Next?
There will be immense activities in the courtrooms going forward. KNUT has already threatened to seek interpretation and challenge the decision in court. Suyianka Lempaa, a lawyer, successfully sued TSC in 2019 over TSC’s action to limit employment age to 45 years.
Conclusion
So does this mean that the new teachers will only be eligible for appointment on permanent and pensionable terms after 10 years?
We think NO! If you will be eligible to work for more than 10 years, then you will be appointed to work on permanent and pensionable terms after the normal six-month probation period.
The problem is that TSC is trying to limit the permanent and pensionable employability of teachers aged above 45 years.
