Teachers’ Salary Review Blocked: KUPPET Points Finger at SRC
Teachers overwhelmingly opposed the Salary and Remuneration Commission’s (SRC) salary review of state officers.
Kuppet Akelo Misori, secretary general of the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), has claimed that SRC has been blocking a raise in salary for teachers while approving the same increase for state executives.
According to Misori, the commission has delayed by two years the Third Public Sector Remuneration and Benefits Review Cycle’s 2021 salary review for teachers.
‘‘The commission’s recommendation is not merely tone-deaf. SRC is a public relations tool by the country’s political and economic establishment to perpetuate the inequalities in our country by blocking the legitimate demands of low-income earners,’’ Misori said.
The President, the Vice President, Cabinet Secretaries, Members of Parliament and County Assemblies, Judges, and Members of Constitutional Commissions are all candidates for a pay raise under the current proposals.
Over a two-year period, beginning on July 1, 2023, State officers will receive a total salary increase of 14 percent.
However, Misori noted that many concerns remain unaddressed, including those related to the well-being of teachers and the facilitation of productive conditions at work.
He claimed that teachers’ efforts to provide quality education to students have been hampered by issues such as delayed capitation, infrastructural needs, insufficient salary, and uneven distribution of resources among schools.
This month, the union will meet to discuss how to meet teachers’ demands.
‘‘KUPPET rejects the increment of salaries for an already pampered cadre of state officers,’’ he said.
Misori noted that while Kenya’s education system is at the forefront in the area, it faces several challenges in terms of access, quality, equity, and transformation.
He claimed that the commission’s lack of sincerity was demonstrated by the SRC’s recommendation to increase the compensation of government servants.
‘‘KUPPET has received with utter disbelief the news that the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) is recommending an increase in the salaries and allowances of state officers at a time when ordinary Kenyans are suffering from skyrocketing inflation and low salaries,’’ Misori said.
As part of his keynote address at the 46th Annual Conference of the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) in Mombasa, Misori urged the government to do more to alleviate the school system’s present financing issue by providing adequate resources.
He noted that parliament allocates funds (meager as they are) on the critical issue of capitation, but financial years roll over before the same is disbursed to schools.
Misori claimed that government officials continue to hide their heads in the sand, resulting in a steady erosion of trust among the public.
‘‘How can a whole Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu promise Parliament and KESSHA that he would release Sh28 billion, only to release Sh24 billion, and the same has not reached many schools even today?’’ he posed.
Teachers’ Salary Review Blocked: KUPPET Points Finger at SRC