TSC will increase teacher wages by August salary arrears.
In accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement for 2021–2025, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will pay wage increments with arrears retroactive to July 1st for teachers’ August salaries (CBA).
Funds totaling Sh10 billion were given to the Commission yesterday in order to carry out the teachers CBA.
The Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, who chairs the Budget and Appropriations Committee, also restored Sh 5 billion for exam administration in a report.
According to the report, “the proposed reduction in recurrent expenditure comprises Sh10 billion from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for the implementation of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), Sh5 billion from basic education for the examination waiver for the national examinations of primary and secondary schools, and Sh1.7 billion for student sponsorships at private universities.”
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), and Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET) signed the 2021–2025 CBA on August 28, 2023.
This year, TSC met with the unions in Naivasha with the intention of resolving some CBA difficulties and implementing the benefits in July wages.
The Commission was supposed to get funds for the CBA through the failed 2024 Finance Bill.
The TSC was impacted by the Treasury’s subsequent budget cut proposals, which included delaying the implementation of the CBA in certain sectors.
The two-phase implementation of teacher payment was examined in the agreement. The first stage went into effect on July 1st, 2023.
On July 1, 2024, the second phase was scheduled to go into effect. Teachers’ pay increases were supposed to appear on their paystubs in July 2024, but they will instead appear in August.
According to the agreement, there will be four clusters in which the house allowance rates would be paid. Nairobi City is in Cluster 1. Cluster 2 includes the municipalities of Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Nyeri, Eldoret, Thika, Kisii, Malindi, and Kitale. Other former municipalities make up Cluster 3. Cluster 4: Everything else.
The house allowance rates for Clusters 1, 2, and 3 were kept in the agreement. On the other hand, it was decided to adopt Cluster 4 prices in two stages.
With arrears backdated to January 7, 2023, the first phase was calculated into the payroll for August 2023. Arrears retroactive to January 7, 2024, will be used to fund the second phase.
Important areas including free day secondary education, free basic education, and Junior Secondary School (JSS) have been spared from rationalization, according to a report presented on Tuesday by Budget and Appropriations Committee member Peter Masara.
Unlike the previous proposal, which called for a cut of Sh14.93 billion, the revised move would see an increase in the Basic Education budget of Sh14.3 billion to Sh131.2 billion.
Included in this increase are Sh2.4 billion for free day secondary education and Sh11.98 billion for free elementary education.
Amounts of Sh5 billion have been set aside to administer national exams and evaluations to over 3.5 million students enrolled in Form Four, Sixth Grade, and Third Grade.
This comprises Sh3.1 billion for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and Sh1.9 billion for the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA).
An additional Sh29.5 billion will be given to the TSC for the management of teacher resources, of which Sh17.6 billion will be used to transform 46,000 intern teachers into permanent and pensionable positions. Teachers’ medical coverage will be funded with Sh11.9 billion.
“The people asked the National Assembly to ringfence the JSS allocation, which was suggested by the TSC. He stated, “The committee is committed to improving the current allocation for hiring JSS intern teachers in FY 2024/25 and notes the public’s concern.”
Nancy Macharia, the chief executive officer of TSC, emphasized that teachers would lose their medical benefits, including Work Injury Benefits Act (Wiba) and group life and personal accident coverage, in the absence of sufficient funds. Beginning on December 1, the third year of the teachers’ medical contract will come with a price tag of Sh20.6 billion.
Furthermore, an additional Sh1.15 billion would be added to the Higher Education and Research budget, making it Sh120.4 billion.
A portion of the study stated, “The public had proposed reinstating allocations for the State Department for Higher Education and Research to its FY 2024/25 levels, including a proposed Sh10 billion for the EduAfya program.”
Prior to this, the Universities Fund (UF) for scholarships was to see a Sh2.6 billion drop from its original Sh19.6 billion, while the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) was to see a Sh710 million budget cut.
Higher Education Principal Secretary Dr. Beatrice Inyangala issued a warning last week during her appearance before the National Assembly Committee on Education, which was chaired by Tinderet MP Julius Melly, stating that these cuts would make it more difficult for 153,292 students to get government support. According to Inyangala, “many first-year students are inadequately funded as a result of government funding for students under Helb and the UF being reduced.”
In order to support ongoing activities to lessen negative effects on school attendance, nutrition, and economic stability, the committee also suggested financing the school food program.
TSC will increase teacher wages by August salary arrears.
Follow us on WhatsApp Channel Link
More Teachers Arena News
Follow Us on Telegram.
