ECDE Teachers In Uasin Gishu To Be Put On Permanent & Pensionable Terms.
Following a Senate recommendation, the Uasin Gishu County government will hire over 1,500 Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teachers as permanent and pensionable employees.
The teachers had petitioned the Senate to force county officials to address a number of issues concerning them, including their employment status.
In their petition to the Senate’s Labour and Social Welfare Committee, they also mentioned the implementation of a service scheme, poor remuneration, unprocedural stipend stoppage, and delayed wages.
They complained that these issues, and the failure of county officials to address them, had demoralized them, resulting in poor performance and mass resignations.
They were paid a maximum of Sh10,000 per month despite being hired more than nine years ago.
“Because of the poor welfare of ECDE teachers, many resigned for greener pastures, despite having trained for the profession. Lack of commitment by the county to address the issues has aggravated the matter,” said the tutors in their petition.
They requested that the Senate investigate the issues by questioning the county secretary, the County Public Service Board, and other relevant individuals and agencies.
On May 12, Governor Jackson Mandago, the board, and the Education executive appeared in a virtual session before the Senate committee and were questioned about the teachers’ grievances.
Senator Johnes Mwaruma (Taita Taveta), the committee vice-chairperson who presided over the meeting, chastised the governor for being too lenient in dealing with the teachers’ demands.
“It seems your executive in the Education department is not giving you the correct information. We want to see the commitment on the part of the county in addressing the issues raised since the petition is straightforward,” Mr Mwaruma said.
Mwaruma noted that the tutors should have permanent and pensionable contracts.
He said it is not about the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) taking over the affairs of ECDE teachers because the Council of Governors (CoG) went to court to be solely assigned the function, and they should not avoid it.
The Education Department has now advertised internally for 1,500 assistant ECDE teachers in Grade Two, 100 ECDE teachers in Grade Three, and another 20 ECDE graduates in Grade Three.
Mr Mandago told the committee that ‘taming the wage bill and shielding the tutors from taxation’ were two factors preventing him from increasing their pay.
He noted that the county government is trying to manage the wage bill because we are currently spending Sh200 million per year to pay teachers, and if teachers are put on permanent and pensionable terms, the emoluments would balloon by Sh350 per year.
Nonetheless, he stated that his administration was committed to addressing the issues, promising that the teachers would be given permanent and pensionable positions by July 2022.
He added that they have already approved the budget for the teachers to be hired on a permanent basis. and the County Public Service Board is reviewing individual documents in order to allow job grading.
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Nominated Senator Alice Milgo stated that despite being approved in 2018, Uasin Gishu was among the counties that had not implemented the scheme of service.
“Even if there are good infrastructures with a poorly remunerated teacher, the implementation of CBC will face challenges,” she said.
She urged the government of Uasin Gishu to follow in the footsteps of other regions that pay their ECDE teachers up to Sh30,000 per month on permanent and pensionable terms.
ECDE Teachers In Uasin Gishu To Be Put On Permanent & Pensionable Terms
