Nanyuki Primary School ECDE pupils with their teacher Mary Ndirangu at an open field on January 4, 2021. The ECDE teachers union has decried the huge discrepancy in pay for teachers in different counties and asked governors to implement the Early Childhood Education Act, 2021.
| James Murimi | Nation Media GroupNews
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Pre-primary school teachers paid 6 times less than peers
What you need to know:
- Teachers union says pay discrepancy among ECDE teachers needs to be addressed urgently.
- In private schools, some employers are paying the teachers as little as Sh2,000.
Pre-primary education teachers have protested unequal pay by counties, with some being paid as low as Sh7,500 per month while others earn Sh43,800.
Poor pay is partly being blamed for the shortage of Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) teachers, as some are opting for other lucrative jobs in non-governmental organisations and other sectors.
Kenya Union of Pre-Primary Education teachers (Kenoppet) national chairman Lawrence Otunga said the pay discrepancy among ECDE teachers needs to be addressed urgently.
“We want all ECDE teachers in Kenya to be paid according to their qualifications,” he said.
The best paying counties are Mandera, Garissa, Embu, Turkana, Kajiado, Kilifi, Kwale, Kiambu, Kisumu, Nairobi and Bungoma.
Mandera County is the best payer, with diploma teachers earning Sh43,800, certificate holders Sh35,700 and untrained teachers Sh26,400. Garissa County is the second best paying, with diploma teachers earning Sh42,300, certificate teachers 35,000 and untrained teachers Sh26,000. In Embu, diploma teachers earn Sh37,000 while certificate holders earn Sh33,000.
Nairobi is the latest county to employ permanent ECDE teachers. Mr Otunga said the teachers’ salary was increased to Sh33,000, from Sh25,000.
The bottom 10 counties that pay poorly are Kericho, Baringo, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Makueni, Kirinyaga, Nandi, Kitui, Laikipia and Uasin Gishu.
In some of the counties, teachers earn a flat rate, with no consideration for their level of education, resulting in degree holders earning as little as Sh12,000.
The counties with flat rates are Kericho (Sh8,000), Nyeri (Sh12,650), Laikipia, Nyandarua and Uasin Gishu (Sh10, 000).
In Baringo, degree holders earn Sh12,000, diploma holders Sh11,000 and certificate holders Sh10,000, while in Makueni, certificate holders earn Sh12,000as those with diplomas earn 14,000. Kitui’s diploma holders are paid Sh12,000, certificate holders get Sh9,000 while untrained teachers earn Sh7,500.
Mr Otunga said the union is in talks with the counties to domesticate the Early Childhood Education Act, 2021, which requires all county public service boards to remunerate the ECDE teachers according to the Scheme of Service.
“Most governors have failed to give priority to the implementation of the Act,” he said, warning that the union would take them to court if they continue to violate the law. He said some counties have even refused to employ the teachers on a permanent terms.
In private schools, the discrepancy in pay is huge, with some employers paying the teachers as little as Sh2,000. However, many private schools pay their teachers between Sh20,000 and Sh30,000, with some international schools paying up to Sh70,000, recent data from the Ministry of Education shows.
The ministry’s policy brief report on the “Status of Early Childhood Development in the 47 counties” revealed that the number of ECDE teachers reduced by 22,472 between 2014 and 2019.
"As a ministry we are doing our best to ensure the ECDE sector is motivated. There is need to have a harmonised scheme of service for the teachers," said Ministry of Education Director General Alias Abdi on Monday during the launch of the Aga Khan ECD Workforce Hub.
The initiative will focus on the most marginalised and disadvantaged communities.
