Rwanda Primary Teachers Get 88% Salary Increase, Kenyan Teachers Embroiled In Tussle With Gov’t Over Salaries
Rwandan primary school teachers will receive an 88 percent pay increase beginning in August as part of the country’s incentives aimed at improving teachers’ livelihoods.
Secondary school teachers’ pay will also be increased by 40% under the new revisions.
According to a communique issued by the country’s education ministry on Monday, net salaries for certificate holders in the teaching profession will increase to Ksh.11,010.
The salary of a teacher recruited and paid on the basis of a diploma will be increased by 40% of the net starting salary of RWF 54,916 (Ksh.6,324), bringing the salary to Ksh.8,800.
“For a teacher recruited and paid on the basis of AO degree (total of 17,547 teachers) will increase by 40% of net starting salary or 70,195 FRW (Ksh.8,084),” Dr. Valentine Uwamariya, the education minister said.
This increases the starting salary of a degree-holding teacher to Ksh.11,318.
“The salaries for Head Teachers, Deputy Head Teachers, and support staff working in public and government-aided schools have also been revised upwards.
These decisions come into force from the payment of the teacher salaries of August 2022,” the statement added.
While Rwanda’s teachers’ salaries have increased by 10% since March 2019, the country’s The New Times newspaper reports that over 1000 teachers leave their profession each month in search of better opportunities.
The new pay increase is part of a package that will include incentives to improve teacher welfare and promote educational quality in public and government-aided schools for general education and TVET.
Meanwhile, Kenyan teachers are embroiled in a wage dispute with the government. The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) demanded a 60% pay increase last month, which they wanted to be implemented immediately.
Collins Oyuu, secretary general of the KNUT, cited the high cost of living in advocating for a pay raise for teachers.
“We have commenced a structured negotiation with the employer to see to it that a 60 per cent salary rise is awarded to teachers,” Mr. Oyuu said.
He demanded that the 2021-25 collective bargaining agreement, which was signed with non-monetary benefits, be reviewed.
Non-monetary benefits included extended paid maternity leave for female teachers and the introduction of paternity leave for male teachers in the 2021-25 CBA.
Other issues that the teachers union wants to be addressed are payments for Teachers Professional Development that are paid for by the teachers, as well as a review of teacher promotion policies.
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Prof. George Magoha, Cabinet Secretary for Education, dismissed the teachers’ demand, claiming that the government cannot afford it.
“Teachers are of course entitled to an increment of salaries but in the whole of this continent, there’s no government that is spending more money on education than ours. So perhaps what we should be doing is to ensure we have value for money,” he said then.
Rwanda Primary Teachers Get 88% Salary Increase, Kenyan Teachers Embroiled In Tussle With Gov’t Over Salaries
