Teachers demand risk allowance for members in northeastern regions
What you need to know:
- This is even as the parents union also backed the decision saying the government should move with speed to address the insecurity issues and save innocent children who continue to drop out of school.
- Majority of the teachers posted to Mandera, Wajir and Garissa counties have refused to report to their work stations because of the frequent terror attacks that have seen a number of their colleagues and students killed.
- Mr Zablon Awange, chairman of Kuppet, Kisumu County said the risk allowance cut across the board, that is Science teachers and teachers in insecure regions should enjoy the allowances.
Two teachers unions on Tuesday asked the government to give risk allowances to their members willing to be posted in the northeastern regions.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and their Kenya Union of Post Primary Education (Kuppet) counterparts said the allowances should be given in a minimum of Sh10, 000 for the teachers.
They said the payment will motivate them and boost productivity in the classrooms.
“It is up to the government to look for other dispute resolution mechanisms such as risk allowances to motivate the locals and teachers who have shown willingness to work in those regions,” Mr Mudzo Nzili, the Knut national chairman told Nation on phone.
This is even as the parents union also backed the decision saying the government should move with speed to address the insecurity issues and save innocent children who continue to drop out of school.
Presently, teachers are only entitled to hardship allowances.
Majority of the teachers posted to Mandera, Wajir and Garissa counties have refused to report to their work stations because of the frequent terror attacks that have seen a number of their colleagues and students killed.
Mr Nzili however maintained that the teachers who had vowed not to report to northeastern schools will not go back.
“We are asking the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to re-employ these teachers to safer regions because their lives are at risk,” he said.
Mr Zablon Awange, chairman of Kuppet, Kisumu County said the risk allowance cut across the board, that is Science teachers and teachers in insecure regions should enjoy the allowances.
Mr Musau Ndunda, the National-secretary general of the Kenya National Association of Parents supported the Union’s proposal saying that the government should adopt such mechanism.
“You cannot free any teacher to work in a hostile environment when your life and safety are not guaranteed,” Mr Ndunda told Nation on phone on Tuesday.
He urged the government to come up with a locally based solution like engaging the affected counties to mobilise the locals willing to teach to be given the allowance.
