
EDUCATION ON THE EDGE: Teachers’ Unions Warns Gov’t Against TSC Budget Cuts As Strike Looms
Teachers’ unions across the country are now warning of the dire consequences of budget cuts, particularly to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
According to the unions, the future of Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) implementation and teacher welfare are now in jeopardy as TSC faces a Ksh.10 billion budget cut for this fiscal year.
The budget cut resulted from the rejection and withdrawal of the contentious Finance Bill 2024.
The TSC budget cuts will result in Ksh.10 billion in implementation gaps for the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Education budget (including TSC) earmarked for a Kes 36.03 billion slash to Kes 623.12 billion (5.47% budget cut).
— Julians Amboko (@AmbokoJH) July 13, 2024
Steepest cut is in the State Department for Basic Education pic.twitter.com/8dq8BcFbgw
In addition, there will be a Ksh.262 million shortfall for teacher training, particularly for those involved in CBC implementation.
The commission’s overall operations and maintenance costs will be reduced by Ksh.18 million.
Teachers have now threatened industrial action if the reduced sum is not reinstated by the start of the third term of study.
“We will call our NDC and issue a strike notice,” Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Secretary-General Akello Misori told Citizen TV.
The impact of budget cuts has been reflected in teachers’ most recent pay stubs.
MPs have approved a Sh10 billion cut from the TSC budget, affecting 46,000 intern teachers who hoped to join the government payroll
— Moe (@moneyacademyKE) July 25, 2024
“Teachers have been paid for July but the CBA increment has not been remitted; we cannot allow that,” said Misori.
According to the teachers, the government cannot be allowed to break its own promises.
“A CBA is a legal document between the government and its employees and therefore there should be no excuse of it not being implemented,” Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Kisumu Executive Secretary, David Obuon, said.
The teachers’ unions also expressed concern about the impact of budget cuts on teacher staffing.
The promise to permanently absorb 46,000 intern teachers and hire 20,000 new teachers is one of the areas impacted by the cuts, as is teacher training.
The decision is likely to stymie the next phase of implementing the CBC curriculum.
“The same government has budgeted Ksh.54 billion for entertainment and travel by State officers; this kind of wastage is unacceptable to Kenyan teachers and all right-thinking Kenyans,” said Misori.
“The Ksh.18 billion cut will irreparably affect teaching in the Junior Secondary School (JSS).”
“Retooling our teachers is not being done as it is supposed to be, the current JSS teachers were trained under the 8-4-4 system,” Obuon said
“They have been employed to teach under CBC; if they are not retooled due to budget cuts, who is going to be blamed?” he posed.
EDUCATION ON THE EDGE: Teachers’ Unions Warns Gov’t Against TSC Budget Cuts As Strike Looms