Education budget cut casts doubt on teachers pay raise

Teachers are unlikely to get a pay rise in the year starting July after the Treasury cut the salary budget for the primary and secondary school tutors, signalling friction between the government and the workers’ unions.

Budget estimates presented to Parliament show that the combined pay for primary and secondary school teachers will drop from Sh153 billion to Sh152.8 in the year ending June 2015.

This will come as a blow to the teachers who in January went on strike demanding a salary increase of between 200 and 300 per cent and several allowances, among other demands.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will receive Sh96.9 billion to pay primary school teachers, down from Sh99 billion in the current financial year.

But the budget for secondary school tutors pay will increase to Sh55.8 billion from Sh53.9 billion.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, the ministry of Education, and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) have all ruled out a pay increase until an ongoing job evaluation for public officers is completed.

READ: SRC in bid to freeze salaries of overpaid civil servants

The pay rise debate is also in court where the government is arguing against the increase, citing slow economic growth.

Mr Kenyatta in February told teachers that the country has limited resources and urged them to give the government some “breathing space” since it had to balance other needs in the education sector.

The SRC told a parliamentary committee last week that it had frozen any salary reviews for teachers until a job evaluation is completed in two years.

The commission insists that it is only after the review that teachers would know if they will enjoy responsibility, hazard, disturbance, entertainment, mileage and township allowances.

The teachers wanted a responsibility allowance of 35 per cent of basic pay for principals and head teachers; 30 per cent for deputy principals and head teachers; and 25 per cent for heads of department and senior teachers.

They had also demanded that disturbance allowance to be paid at the rate of one month’s basic pay while township allowance be paid at the rate of 30 per cent in Nairobi, 20 per cent in other cities, 10 per cent in municipalities and five per cent in townships.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers had asked for a basic salary of Sh68,355 for a P1 teacher and pushed for the highest-paid teacher to take home Sh302,205.

“Should this be awarded, the teachers wage bill will expand by an additional Sh216 billion,” SRC said in court.

The government has in the 2015/16 financial year allocated Sh2.3 billion for the hiring of 5,000 teachers.

The TSC had intended to hire 10,000 teachers to plug a deficit which stands at 80,000, a situation that has led to many schools relying on teachers hired by school boards.

The Treasury projected that in the fiscal year 2016/17, it would allocate Sh169.3 billion for primary and secondary school teachers, signalling more funds for hiring of tutors.

Treasury has, however, more than doubled the salary budget for tertiary institutions with compensation of tutors rising from Sh8 billion to Sh21.4 billion.