Alego Usonga member of parliament Samuel Atandi has recommended that the teachers’ salaries be reviewed in order to help in implementing the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) as well as to help curb indiscipline cases in schools.
“The allocations by the government are not sufficient:’ Said the lawmaker adding that the free education in Kenya is not realistic considering that parents financially contribute a lot to the management of the school.
Despite teachers being in the same job group, their monthly, gross salaries vary depending on the locations of their workplaces. The same principle applies to their TSC allowances.
Classroom Teachers Ignored In The Last Job Evaluation.
According to a report by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), the last job evaluation was skewed in favor of school heads while leaving classroom teachers broke.
According to the report, current job descriptions for classroom teachers, based on the 2016/2017 evaluation, grossly undervalue their worth, resulting in low pay.
It reveals that the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which was implemented based on the most recent job evaluation, favoured headteachers heavily because it did not adequately capture classroom teachers’ job descriptions.
“There were significant disparities in the compensation and career progression between the institutional administrators and classroom teachers in the teaching profession as the job evaluation results for 2016/2017 did not adequately cater for the remuneration of classroom teachers.
This might be attributed to poor development of job descriptions in 2016;’ reads the report. This means that for the last four years, classroom teachers -who also make up the majority of the workforce was underpaid under the CBA.
Primary school principals and secondary school principals were promoted to higher job grades in 2016. All primary school principals in boarding and day schools were automatically promoted to Grade D1, with salaries ranging from Sh77,840 to Sh93,408.
Primary school principals with fewer students were promoted to CS, earning Sh62,272 and Sh77,840 respectively. Primary school deputy heads were also promoted to grades C5 and C4 with pay ranging from Sh52,308 to 65,385.
Senior primary teachers were promoted to grade C2 and were paid between Sh34,955 and 43,694. National school principals were promoted to Grade D5, with monthly salaries ranging from Sh131,380 to Sh157,656.
The pay was also determined by the school category. Principals of extra-county schools were promoted to D5 while their deputies were promoted to D3. Principals of county schools were promoted to D4, while those of sub-county boarding schools were promoted to D4.
Deputies serving as headteachers in county and sub-county schools were assigned to grades D3 and D2, respectively. Principals of sub-county day schools were moved to Group D3, and senior headmasters of secondary schools were moved to Grade D4.
This was based on a newly established grading structure for the Teaching Service, which ranged from T-Scale 15 Uob group DS) for the Chief Principal to T-Scale 5 (B5) for the Primary Teacher 11, the lowest grade.
No Salary Review For The Next 4 Years
However, SRS made it clear that teachers may have to wait four years for raises, as the employer has snuffed out any hopes of a review. Teachers Service Commission (TSC) guidelines on the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) affirmed that tutors will continue to enjoy old salary rates in a circular released to guide implementation of the 2021-2025 CBA.
Even allowances will be based on old rates, as was the case under the recently concluded 5h56 billion which increased teachers’ pay. TSC Chief Executive Nancy Macharia, on the other hand, says teachers will benefit from increased leave days and flexible transfers, which will help bring separated families closer together.
“To achieve the family values enshrined in the constitution, the commission shall consider transfer requests for married couples to appropriate stations/locations subject to availability of vacancies, the need for a suitable replacement, existing staffing norms and proof of marriage among other factors;’ A circular by Macharia says.
On July 13, 2021, the commission and three unions signed the CBA: Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), and Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET).
It will last until June 30, 2025. The unions stated at the time the CBA was signed that they had agreed that TSC would revisit the salary component in July.