The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has decried the government’s decision to withdraw Kajiado County from the list of hardship areas in Kenya, a decision that has led to teachers in the region to miss out on hardship allowances.
Speaking during the KNUT Annual General Meeting (AGM), the teachers urged the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to restore the county's former status noting that teachers working in the county were still facing unique challenges like imminent attacks by wild animals that often roam the area.
“Some sub-counties have lost the status of hard-to-staff and hardship areas. So we must appeal to the Teachers Service Commission that the status of Kajiado should remain the same,” KNUT Secretary General Collins Oyuu declared.
The union also addressed the issue of teacher shortage in the area and stated that the challenge was one that affected several other counties in the country and urged TSC to prioritise staffing rural areas instead of over-staffed urban areas.
“The issue of understaffing here is one issue that even escalates to other branches and other regions,” Oyuu added.
“Teachers should not be posted to the urban areas that are already overstaffed. Let them be posted to schools that need teachers.”
Elsewhere in Uasin Gishu County, The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) echoed these concerns of teachers working in hardship areas, laboratories and workshops and urged the commission to cater for any injuries incurred while on duty.
In the same vein, they advocated for a risk allowance for these teachers so that they would cater for other hardships they may encounter in their day-to-day lives.
They then demanded a 50 to 100 percent salary increment in their new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to help cope with the growing cost of living.
KUPPET Secretary General Akelo Misori argued that this was due to the increase in the cost of basic household items between the years 2017 and 2024.
The new CBA is supposed to cover the years between 2025 and 2029.
It is also expected to facilitate the promotion of 20,000 primary school heads, now serving as Acting Junior Secondary School Principals, to Principal status.
