Back-to-class deal may hit projects, raise taxes

What you need to know:

  • The package will be backdated to July 1, meaning that their salaries next month will reflect the arrears.
  • The lowest paid teacher will take home a basic salary of Sh19,323 up from Sh13,750 while the highest paid will earn Sh144,928, up from Sh120,270.
  • The teachers will also get hardship and special schools allowances at 30 per cent and 10 per cent of their basic salaries respectively.

Learning in public schools is set to resume on Monday morning after the teachers’ strike was called following a Sh13.5 billion salary deal.

But the government might have to cut development spending, increase borrowing and increase taxes to raise the money.

As teachers troop back to class on Monday, Education minister Mutula Kilonzo will also meet the national examinations council to rule whether the exam timetable will be revised.

This is to enable candidates in Class Eight and Form Four to recover the three weeks lost during the strike that started at the beginning of the final term on September 3.

Kenya National Union of Teachers officials Wilson Sossion (chairman), Xavier Nyamu (deputy secretary general) and Albanus Mutisya
(Treasurer) sealed the deal with the government on Sunday. (READ: State to pay teachers Sh13.5bn)

Mr Sossion expressed confidence that the union’s council, which had rejected an earlier offer for phased implementation, would endorse the return-to-work package.

“I’m certain this time round that the NEC will accept the deal. The strike will definitely be called off,” Mr Sossion said. Only the NEC can call off the strike called by Knut secretary general David Okuta.

Finance minister Njeru Githae said the government had not budgeted for the money, and was exploring various options.

“We saw this coming and set up four teams at the Treasury to explore four revenue sources the government could use to raise additional revenue to pay teachers,” he said.

Mr Githae said the teams would explore various options, including reducing development budget, the Recurrent Expenditure, borrow money either locally or overseas or increase government revenue by sealing tax loopholes in the public transport sector.

He said tax is lost through leakages in levies paid during road inspection of matatus and trucks.

Mr Githae said the Treasury would also explore the option of increasing VAT, income tax, customs and excise duty but said this would be a last resort due to its unpopularity as Kenyans were already heavily taxed.

“All the options are feasible but increasing tax will only come as a last resort,” said the minister. The deal will see the salaries of teachers levelled with those of other civil servants in the same pay grade.

The package will be backdated to July 1, meaning that their salaries next month will reflect the arrears.

The lowest paid teacher will take home a basic salary of Sh19,323 up from Sh13,750 while the highest paid will earn Sh144,928, up from Sh120,270.

The teachers will also get hardship and special schools allowances at 30 per cent and 10 per cent of their basic salaries respectively.

The two allowances had been frozen by the government in June 2009. Other agreements include the upgrading of all P2 to P1 status and their pay increased from Sh13,750 to Sh19,000.

According to the return-to-work agreement seen by Nation, no teacher would be victimised for participating in the strike. University lecturers, alongside their non-teaching colleagues were awarded Sh7.8 billion on Thursday.

At the same time, Kenya Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) chairman Omboko Milemba said they would accept the offer.

“Kuppet’s proposal was to have the amount paid in a lumpsum but as a union we have no bitterness against our counterparts in Knut because it is a win for all the teachers.”

Meanwhile, Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka has said the government would honour the agreement with the teachers. This is after the government came under sharp criticism for backtracking on the 1997 deal with teachers.

Reported by Benjamin Muindi, Esther Mwangi, John Njagi and Leonard Mutinda