Ogamba pledges to address teachers' grievances to avert Kuppet strike

The government has pledged to work closely with teachers’ unions to address long-standing grievances over pay, promotions, housing allowances, medical cover and working conditions, in a renewed effort to avert industrial action that could disrupt learning and national examinations.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba made the commitments during a consultative meeting with officials of the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), led by Secretary General Akelo Misori on Thursday.

Ogamba said he supported the union’s push to compress the third and fourth phases of the CBA, although he acknowledged that implementing the proposal immediately would be difficult because of existing budgetary timelines.

“I was there when the President made the promise, but time is not on our side on achieving the reduction,” Ogamba said, referring to President William Ruto’s earlier commitment.

This comes with schools approaching a critical examination period beginning next month, he nevertheless said he was prepared to initiate a Cabinet paper seeking to reduce the new CBA cycle into two years, beginning with the 2028/29 financial year.

The talks came amid growing pressure from Kuppet over what the union says are unresolved issues affecting teachers’ welfare and the delivery of education.

The ministry said the discussions focused on teacher welfare and measures to improve access to quality basic education, signalling the government’s preference for dialogue rather than confrontation.

Among the key issues discussed was the implementation of the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement between teachers and the Teachers Service Commission.

Kuppet has called for the reopening and review of the agreement, arguing that salary adjustments awarded to other public servants have widened disparities among workers in equivalent job groups.

Kuppet has also made teacher promotions a central issue. The union says the government had committed to promoting 50,000 teachers but only about 34,000 positions have so far been addressed, leaving approximately 16,000 qualified teachers stagnated in their current job groups.

Ogamba acknowledged that stagnation remains a serious problem and pledged support for increased funding.

“It was due to the President’s support that the budget for promotion was doubled from Sh1 billion to Sh2 billion. I am sure we can sustain this for three cycles,” he said.

The CS committed to supporting an allocation of Sh2 billion annually for the next three cycles, with the aim of substantially addressing stagnation by 2028.

House allowances were another major concern raised by Kuppet. The union wants teachers’ allowances reviewed and harmonised with the rates applicable in Nairobi.

“This is something I support. It is true that other public servants enjoy regular reviews of house allowances and teachers deserve the same,” Ogamba said.

The meeting also tackled teachers’ medical cover under the Social Health Authority, with the union citing delays in authorisations and restrictions affecting access to some medical services.

Kuppet has further raised concerns over the management and remuneration of teachers involved in national examinations, demanding transparent contracts and settlement of outstanding payments.

Capitation emerged as another pressing issue. The union says schools are struggling because they have not received the full statutory allocation, affecting basic needs such as food, electricity, water and learning materials.

Ogamba pledged quicker disbursement, saying schools should receive their allocations before the beginning of each term. He said the government intends to remit the full annual allocation of Sh22,440 per learner after completion of the ongoing KEMIS data capture exercise.

The government also committed to reviewing the cost of running schools, based on structures established in 2015.