The Principal Secretary for Education Dr Belio Kipsand has implored Senators to intervene and stop the proposed reduction of salaries for Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teachers.
In a meeting that Kipsang held with the Committee on Education, Kipsang called on Senators to defend the ECDE teachers from the proposed reduction of their salaries.
In his view, teachers play an important role in building the foundation for education and therefore deserve proper remuneration.
PS Kipsang said that it is ECDE teachers who carry out most of the work of preparing and shaping students for the journey of education.
He implored the country to invest in quality education at the entry-level by ensuring that the interests of ECDE teachers be considered.
He reiterated the importance of national and county governments working together in harmonizing the salary scheme of service for ECDE teachers in all counties across the country.
Through this, he believes that there will be no salary disparities among ECDE teachers as some are permanent and pensionable terms of service while others are employed on a contractual basis.
Citing a study done on basic education the PS said that investing in quality ECDE teachers reduces the cost of primary education by 15%.
This was following the Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s (SRC) plan of reducing the minimum salary for ECDE Teachers in some counties from Kes. 20,000 to Kes. 7,836.
However, the Commission rebuffed these claims saying that the proposed revision would be illegal since the minimum wage is Kes. 12,000.
PS Kipsang also called on the government to invest in quality education by providing adequate compensation to teachers.