Teachers’ joy in 41 per cent pay rise

All public school teachers have been given a pay rise of up to 41 per cent.

From July 1, the lowest paid teacher will earn an extra Sh1,426 and the highest paid get Sh30,112 a month. Kenya has nearly 240,000 teachers in public schools.

The lowest paid teacher, at the tail-end of P2 level or job group F, will now earn Sh13,037, up from Sh11,611 per month.

This represents an increment of 12.2 per cent.

The highest paid teacher, a chief principal on job group R, will now earn Sh105,214 per month, up from Sh75,102, a 41 per cent increment.

In July 2007, the salary of a chief principal was Sh44,990 meaning it has more than doubled in three years.

Chief principals in Nairobi will cumulatively earn Sh154,00 in salaries and allowances per month based on the new pay.

Other allowances are house (Sh40,000), medical (Sh4,412), boarding (Sh800) and commuter (Sh4,410).

Principals who head schools with up to 10 streams can earn another Sh7,500 per month.

House allowances range from Sh2,300 for the least paid teacher to Sh40,000.

Teachers are also paid a uniform commuter allowance ranging from Sh767 for the most junior to Sh4,412 for the most senior teacher per month.

Like the first phase that was effected in July last year, the new increments are higher for senior teachers.

A total of 240,000 teachers in primary, secondary and colleges employed by the Teachers Service Commission will benefit from the increment, which would greatly cushion them during the hard economic times.

A circular containing the massive increments was sent out by TSC boss Gabriel Lengoiboni on Friday.

The salaries were in tandem with the agreement signed between the government and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) last year.

The pact was reached following an 11-day work stoppage by teachers to force a salary review.

Phases

The parties agreed that the salary raise be implemented in three phases, the first of which came last year.

In all, the increments are expected to add up to Sh17 billion paid out in three years at a percentage rate of 40-40-20.

The implementation phase is to end in July 1, 2011.

In the first phase about to expire, teachers enjoyed salary increments of up to 67 per cent.

During that phase, the teachers received increases of between Sh1,426 for the lowest paid and Sh30,112 for the highest paid tutor.

The new awards were meant to harmonise terms between the teachers and civil servants, a move that seems to have only augured well for the secondary and college teachers.

Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to include money for the additional salaries in the Budget he would present to Parliament next month.

Last year, Mr Kenyatta increased the Education ministry’s allocation for payment of salaries and other expenses to Sh117 billion, up from Sh106 billion the previous year to accommodate the first phase.

In the memo sent out to key government officials, Mr Lengoiboni said the new salaries will apply to all teachers in the service on or after July this year, including those on leave pending retirement or final termination of appointment.

According to the circular, the salary of the lowest paid chief principal will go up from the current Sh59,768 to Sh82,746 per month from July.

The least paid teacher, for example, a P2, will only receive a basic a salary increment of between 12.2 and 15.5 per cent compared to the chief principal who will receive a 41 per cent rise arising from their higher salaries.

The highest paid P2 teacher will have the salary increased from Sh13,070 to Sh13,795 per month representing an a rise of Sh725, the least amount of review.

The salary of the least paid teacher in the next grade, P1, will rise from Sh12,745 per month to Sh14,310.

The highest paid P1 teacher will have the salary going up from Sh16,269 to Sh17,108.

A majority of teachers, about 170,000, are in the P1 category and mainly handling pupils in primary schools.

Mr Lengoiboni indicates that the lowest paid diploma technical teacher and approved teacher IV will have their salaries raised from the current Sh14,365 to Sh16,260.

The highest paid teacher in that job group, H, will earn Sh19,747 up from Sh18,664.

Graduate untrained teachers in job group J will enjoy a rise of between Sh2,064 and Sh2,315. That will see their pay go up from Sh18,850 for the least paid teacher in that category to Sh21,165.

But the most senior teachers in that bracket will enjoy a raise from Sh22,799 to Sh24,863.

According to Mr Lengoiboni, graduate teachers in job group L will have their salaries revised by between Sh3,112 and Sh4,031 per month.

The least paid teachers in that group will have a raise from Sh20,395 to Sh28,457.

But the highest will move to Sh33,719 from Sh30,607 per month.

Senior graduate teachers will have the salaries go up from a low of between Sh28,900 and Sh36,956 to between Sh33,150 and Sh40,904.

According to the agreement, senior principal graduate teachers will have their salaries increased from between Sh51,417 and Sh64,575 per month to between Sh68,824 and Sh87,490.

In the circular dated April 27, Mr Lengoiboni said the increment will apply to basic salaries only.

Hardship allowance

It means all other allowances, which were not part of the negotiations, would not be affected. Such allowances include housing, medical, commuter and hardship.

Regarding hardship allowance, Mr Lengoiboni said no changes will be made to the pay.

“However, any teacher employed, promoted or deployed to a hardship zone will be paid hardship allowances (as per current terms),” he said.

The hardship allowances vary from Sh3,055 per month for a teacher in job group F to Sh11,037 for one in job group R.

Last year, Knut opposed a plan by the government to harmonise the allowance with civil servants.

The move would have seen some of the 90,000 teachers who benefit from the programme losing part of their cash.

But Prime Minister Raila Odinga intervened and asked Public Service Minister Dalmas Otieno to shelve the plan.

Mr Otieno called for a fresh assessment of the allowance before any changes could be made.

Mr Lengoiboni said in the latest circular that staff in special schools will get allowances of between Sh1,018 and Sh3,679 per month.

Responsibility allowances for head teachers, deputies and senior teachers will be paid at different rates.

Senior teachers

Heads of schools with single streams will receive Sh750 per month, while those heading schools with 10 streams would take home Sh7,500.

Senior teachers will receive between Sh150 and Sh300 for those handling single streams and 10 streams respectively.

Allowances for deputies will range from Sh200 to Sh2,000.

Mr Lengoiboni’s circular is sent to the head of the Public Service, Mr Francis Muthaura and permanent secretaries in the ministries of Education, Science and Technology, Finance, Labour and Public Service.

Also copied is Knut secretary general Lawrence Majali and his Kenya Union of Post-Primary Eductaion Teachers counterpart Njeru Kanyamba.

Once he completes implementing the three-phased agreement, Mr Lengoiboni would have successfully managed two controversial agreements in the history of teachers.

The official also paid managed the controversial 1997 pay deal.

He was appointed to the commission just after Knut pushed the Narc administration to shorten the implementation period of the 1997 agreement from 10 years to six.

The delayed deal of 1997 offered teachers increments of up to 150 per cent over a 10-year period.