The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) has claimed that there are 99,000 teachers who are acting in senior administrative positions without being paid acting allowance by their employer.
According to the union, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has appointed the teachers to acting roles such as principals or deputy principals without pay for prolonged periods despite the commission having sufficient budgetary allocations.
In its submission to the National Assembly Committee on Education, Kuppet insisted that teachers who have acted beyond six months should be substantively appointed to those positions.
“Our analysis shows currently that as at April, there are 99,000 teachers who are acting and they are being paid nothing,” said Kuppet Chairperson Omboko Milemba.
The committee met stakeholders in education to discuss the Teachers Service Commission (Amendment) Bill (2024).
Mr Milemba, who is also the Emuhaya MP, said that failing to pay the allowances amounts to misuse of employees.
TSC lawyer Allan Sitima.
Photo credit: File | Nation
The legal counsel for the TSC, Allan Sitima, was hard-pressed by the committee to explain why teachers have been in acting roles for a long time and are not getting paid despite the money being factored in the budget.
“We need you to submit to this committee the number of teachers in acting [roles] and if you are not paying them, where is the money going to and how much is it?” committee Chairman Julius Melly said.
Mr Sitima maintained that there was no need to elevate provisions for allowances to a law as they have already been catered for under the TSC regulations.
The proposed legislation seeks to amend the Teachers Service Commission Act of 2012 to provide clarity and consistency in how allowances are managed in the teaching profession.
Among key proposals in the Bill sponsored by Mandera South MP Abdul Haro 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.
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 for the Bill, says the legislation aims to entrench fairness and transparency in the administration of teachers' benefits.
Mr Sitima said while the proposals are good, the only issue the Commission has with them is where they will be hosted.
“Will it be in the interest of the teachers of this country to put it in a document that is too stringent to change or will we then put it in an instrument that has equally the force of law?” he asked.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) headquarters in Upper Hill, Nairobi.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
His sentiments were supported by representatives from the office of the Attorney-General, the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Kenya Law Reform Commission.
“If certain things do not exist, they (TSC) should be asked to include them in those regulations rather than coming up with amendments to the primary legislation which will straight jacket both the employer and the employee, and will not help them,” said PSC Legal Counsel Jacqueline Manan.
The legislators felt that the TSC Amendment Bill 2024 is a desperate measure by teachers as the TSC had failed to implement regulations.
“The issue is administrative and (when we retreat) we will put in penalties to the employer for noncompliance on allowances that are due to the teachers,” said Mr Melly, who is also the Tinderet MP.
The 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, reader’s facilitation, leave and transfer allowances.
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.
