The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is set to review the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that it signed together with the main teachers’ unions.
The main teachers’ unions that signed the 2021-2025 CBA are the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Teachers (KUPPET) and the KEWOTA.
The Commission wants around Kes. 56 billion over the next four years starting this July to raise teachers’ salaries from job grades B5 to D5.
TSC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Nancy Macharia said that although trade unions had signed the 2021-2025 CBA, it did not contain any monetary value. This is what is now set to undergo a review.
“The Commission negotiated a non-monetary 2021-2025 CBA with the teacher unions pursuant to the advisory from the Salaries Review Commission (SRC). It was agreed that the CBA can be reviewed mid-term if the economic situation would improve in the country,” said Dr Nancy Macharia to members of the National Assembly Education and Research Committee chaired by Julius Melly on Tuesday.
“The Commission would wish to review the 2021-2025 CBA, more specifically the salary component with an aim to motivate teachers under the employment of the Commission.
“Accordingly, we request this committee to support the Commission get Kes. 14 billion per year for four years to cater for the same,” added Macharia.
The TSC CEO also revealed plans to recruit 20,000 teachers in the next financial year to address the shortage of staff, especially at the Junior Secondary School (JSS) level.
She implored members of parliament (MPs) to allocate the Commission Kes. 3.8 billion for recruitment in the next budget that will be presented in June.
The announcement comes a month after the Commission recruited 30,000 teachers with most of them being posted to Junior Secondary Schools. Every school was allocated at least one member of staff.
However, various stakeholders of education raised questions over the shortage of teachers in schools arguing that one teacher cannot handle all the 12 subjects on offer at the Junior Secondary School (JSS) level on his/her own.
Dr Nancy Macharia also said that TSC was intending to fix the shortage of teachers which was at around 116,000 at the beginning of the current year.
The TSC CEO also called on the Parliamentary Education Committee to push for the approval of Kes. 2.2 billion for the promotion of 14,000 teachers who had overstayed in one job group for a long time.
“The Commission has received several requests from teachers, teacher unions, stakeholders among others on the promotion of teachers who have stagnated in the same job group over the years and also those who have attained higher qualifications,” said Dr Macharia.
“Admittedly, we have not been able to promote these teachers because the Commission has not received promotion funds since the implementation of the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). This has in turn tainted the Commission’s image,” she added.
She said that TSC requires Kes. 2.2 billion to carry out the promotion of teachers.