MP faults TSC over uneven teacher pay, warns rural schools risk collapse

Isiolo Woman Representative Mumina Bonaya. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Isiolo Woman Representative Mumina Bonaya has faulted the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) over what she termed unequal pay for teachers in municipalities, warning that the current policy risks weakening education in hardship areas.

Appearing before the National Assembly's Education Committee, Bonaya questioned why teachers in Isiolo receive lower house allowances than their peers in towns like Kisumu and Nakuru, despite facing similar costs of living.

"Isiolo is a gazetted municipality like any other. Why classify it differently? Teachers feel left out," Bonaya told the committee.

She argued the system pushes teachers out of hardship zones, leaving rural schools with just a handful of staff.

"How do you expect one or two teachers to run an entire school with no road, no water, no electricity?" she asked.

Bonaya also urged a review of hardship allowances, saying a flat rate across all regions ignores deeper challenges in remote areas.

Eveleen Mitei, Acting Chief Executive Officer of TSC, said the commission had implemented revised house allowances as part of a two-phase review agreed with unions under the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement.

"Teachers in Isiolo moved from cluster four to cluster three as of July 1, 2024, following guidance from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission," Mitei told the committee chaired by Tindiret MP Julius Melly.

She explained that the SRC conducted a housing cost study and issued binding recommendations that TSC is required to follow.

"We don't determine the clusters. The advisory from SRC is final," Mitei noted.

Bonaya questioned that logic, insisting the policy undermines equity.

"Municipalities are growing at the same pace. Selectively labelling some as 'major' and others as 'others' is unjust," she observed.