Pre-school teachers ask for better wages

Early Childhood Development Education teachers during a past protest. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teachers on Thursday demanded to be given a scheme of service to end the discrimination they have faced over the years.

The teachers complained that despite holding diploma and degree certificates, county governments are paying them a flat rate of below 15,000.

Other counties, they said, have refused to employ them on permanent basis.

National ECDE correspondent Lawrence Otunga said teachers have no job groups.

"Some teachers have been on contract for more than three years," he said.

The teachers were holding their first ever stakeholders meeting  with the Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed , Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and governors to air out their grievances at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development in Nairobi.

Knut Secretary-General Wilson Sossion said teachers must have a scheme of service and will push for the county bill to be enacted into law.

Mr Sossion further said ECDE learning should be mainstreamed and integrated with other education system.

"We should focus at strengthening ECDE teachers and champion for better pay and improvement of infrastructure in all schools," he said.

Mr Sossion said teachers must be paid and given proper terms of employment.

Education CS Amina Mohamed said the ministry is working in consultant with county governments to improve learning in ECDE centres.

Ms Mohamed further said the ministry  is seeking to source funding from world bank which they will use to establish four centres of excellence where county governments ECDE teachers will be trained.

"I have also aware of the teacher shortage in our ECDE centres and I am in consultation with counties to ensure more teachers are employed, " she said.

She asked the teachers to instil values in children that will help in ending indiscipline in schools.

County governments chair in the committee of Education Paul Chepkwony said county governments lack enough funding to pay and employ the ECDE teachers.