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Bomet JSS teachers stage protests, threaten to paralysis learning in January 2026
24th November, 2025 07:38 PM
Bomet-based Junior Secondary School (JSS) intern teachers, together with other teachers and KUPPET officials, held demonstrations in Bomet town on Monday, November 24, 2025, to demand that the government confirm 20,000 intern teachers into permanent and pensionable terms before January 2026.
Led by Bomet Branch KUPPET Executive Secretary Paul Kimeto, the demonstrators said it was unfortunate that the interns’ contracts were set to end this month, yet the government had not taken steps to confirm them.
They threatened to down their tools if the government failed to act on their demands.
“We are very aware that the one-year contract is ending this month, and we are not happy about how the government is treating us,” Kimeto said after a peaceful demonstration in Bomet town.
He added that the intern teachers should have received their confirmation letters as of last month, but the government has since ignored them.
Kimeto noted that intern teachers had done a commendable job and that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) was aware of their contribution.
“Our teachers have done a commendable job and in our law, the internship is equivalent to one year without any extension,” Kimeto said.
He warned that learning would not resume when schools reopen in January if the government fails to confirm all 20,000 teachers.
He further appealed to the President to provide a supplementary budget for the ministry to confirm the interns before employing others.
Union Chairperson Ernest Kirui added that, according to the letters issued to interns by TSC, the policy clearly states that the contracts are for one year, after which confirmation, not extension, should follow, urging the government to stop shifting policies.
Act swiftly or else
JSS teacher Geoffrey Kirui called on the government to act swiftly and confirm the intern teachers before January 2026, cautioning that failure to do so could trigger what he termed “the mother of all strikes” by JSS teachers across the country.
“We urge the government to act swiftly in confirming us before January 2026. If not, we are going to hold the mother of all strikes ever seen in this republic,” Kirui said.
He emphasised that delaying confirmation or attempting to extend the contracts was unfair and detrimental to the education sector as a whole.
President William Ruto, during a visit to Ukambani , insisted that the government would only employ the teachers permanently after serving for two years.
Speaking during his State of the Nation address in Parliament, Ruto announced plans to hire 24,000 more teachers by January next year, bringing the total number recruited in three years to 100,000, which he termed an unmatched achievement.
