Teachers across the country could soon enjoy more predictable and structured allowances if Members of Parliament approve the Teachers Service Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which is before the National Assembly.
The proposed legislation seeks to amend the Teachers Service Commission Act of 2012 to provide clarity and consistency in how allowances are managed within the teaching profession.
The National Assembly has given members of the public until May 9, 2025, to submit views and memoranda to the Departmental Committee on Education on the Bill, which is sponsored by Mandera South MP Abdul Haro.
“In compliance with Article 118(1)(b) of the Constitution and Standing Order 127(3), the Clerk of the National Assembly hereby invites the public and stakeholders to submit memoranda on the Bill,” said Clerk of the National Assembly Samuel Njoroge in a public notice.
Among key proposals in the Bill is the insertion of a new Section 32A, which outlines a structured process for appointing teachers in acting capacities. The legislation also introduces a new schedule specifying the types of allowances that may be granted under certain conditions.
A new schedule introduced under the Bill, dubbed ‘Schedule Four’ covers nine allowances that may be granted under specific circumstances, including housing, commuter, hardship, responsibility, special school allowance, reader’s facilitation allowance, leave allowance and transfer allowance.
Notably, the allowances are non-pensionable, with the exception of the responsibility allowance, which will be considered pensionable if earned up to and including the last date of retirement.
Further, the Bill seeks to amend Section 11 of the TSC Act by inserting a new paragraph that will require the TSC to consult with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to facilitate the payment of allowances to teachers.
Mr Haro, in his memorandum of objects and reasons on the Bill, says the legislation aims to entrench fairness and transparency in the administration of teachers' benefits.
“The principal object of this Bill is to amend the Teachers Service Commission Act in order to provide various allowances that the Commission may pay to teachers over and above their basic pay,” he explains.
The proposals for a structured framework for the teaching profession come at a time when teachers’ unions are agitating for pay increments of between 50 and 100 percent for their members.
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The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) is pushing for a 60 percent basic salary increment and better allowances for its members in a proposed collective bargaining agreement (CBA) presented to the TSC.
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers (Kuppet) has on its part, demanded an increase in basic pay for its members of between 50 and 100 percent as well as improved allowances. Kuppet has also made demands on enhanced allowances and the introduction of a risk allowance for science teachers.
The current CBA, set to expire on June 30, 2025, was non-monetary, and negotiations between the teachers’ unions and the TSC on the 2025-2029 agreement are at an advanced stage.
Among the allowance proposals that the teachers’ unions are making is that teachers working during public holidays be compensated through a fixed monetary reward or overtime payments.
Further, Knut demands that TSC pays three incremental credits to teachers working in arid and semi-arid lands and other hard[1]to-staff areas. It wants acting allowances for teachers holding positions such as deputy headteacher, deputy principal, and heads of departments, but these have not been confirmed.
Knut and Kuppet have previously faced backlash from members for signing the 2021-2025 CBA that did not incorporate a monetary component.
The unions have since defended their decision, arguing that rejecting the deal would have triggered a legal crisis due to looming deadlines.
Mr Haro’s Bill, which is currently before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Education, is also expected to strengthen morale and motivation within the teaching profession.
