Stalemate on teachers’ pay a blow to innocent children

Kenya: The teachers’ strike is now in the second week of the third term. The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) was ordered by a lower court to effect a pay rise for teachers in public schools, a ruling that was subsequently upheld by Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

In fact, by August 31, the pay rise should have been effected. However, Government agencies led by the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury put up a spirited campaign against the court order, supporting TSC in rejecting the pay rise.

In his ruling, Justice Nduma Nderi said the sole agency responsible for determining conditions of service for public teachers is TSC. The role of Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) is purely advisory but it is supposed to regulate salaries of State officers.

TSC is an independent commission but the commissioners and the secretariat subscribe to the old school. The commission is totally unaware of its constitutional mandate and independence.

Resorting to threats of withholding salaries of striking teachers or even sacking them is admission of failure on the part of TSC.

It is a paradox that the commission has ignored a court order and now it wants teachers to obey. Furthermore, the courts have only declared the strike unprotected not unconstitutional.

The argument that teachers’ pay have been harmonised with that of civil servants is untenable. Does harmonisation of the salaries translate to well remunerated teaching force?

Teachers are not civil servants and their nature of work is different. According to Ministry of Education, teachers are supposed to handle classes of 45 students. In many classes, there are 60 or more students. Who pays for the extra enrolled students?

In the civil service, heads of department are remunerated for their roles. In the teaching service, HoDs are not paid for their service. Some schools are manned by one or two TSC teachers. Who pays them for doing work meant for 20 or more teachers?

Teaching is a continuous process. Teachers are busy preparing to ensure updated content for learners. Who remunerates them for extra hours spent preparing?

Teachers are not even compensated for extra curricular work! Principals of schools are not compensated yet they risk so much by managing huge resources on behalf of MoE and TSC!

With 30 per cent of our Budget going to waste and corruption, how can the Government convince teachers that there is no money to pay them?

An administration that cannot account for Sh67 billion of taxpayers money in the last Budget should be ashamed to say it has no money to educate its children.

Over 20 million children are being denied education by a Government that has chosen to defy a court order. Is this the way we desire to be governed?

When we go to the ballot, why are we so pre-occupied with electing tribal chiefs rather than patriotic leaders, who are ready to deviate from what others have done in order to leave a good legacy?

The children out of school are not from the regions that did not vote for Jubilee. It is the Kenyan child who never votes, but is being subjected to misery and suffering by a Government that delays free primary education fees, denies the teachers pay hike, and has failed to employ enough teachers.

Every minute wasted in solving the current stalemate on teachers pay hike is time wasted in realising a bright future for our children.