Teachers Service Commission (TSC) CEO Nancy Macharia (centre), Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Collins Oyuu (right), and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Secretary General Akelo Misori, during a press conference in Nairobi on Monday, August 28, 2023. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard]

Teachers in Kenya will enjoy a basic salary increment of up to 9.5 per cent starting from July 1, 2023, following a new agreement between the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and three teachers' unions.

The deal was signed by the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), and the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET) on Monday, August 28, amending the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that had been rejected by the unions for failing to address their demands.

According to a press statement by TSC CEO Nancy Macharia, the deal includes an increase in house allowance for teachers categorised under Cluster 4, payable in two financial years with effect from July 1, 2023.

"The net effect of this is that the house allowance for Cluster 3 and 4 has been harmonised. The full harmonisation will be complete in July 2024," she said.

Macharia added that 87 per cent of the public teaching service are earning house allowance under Cluster 4 category, which are teachers stationed mainly in rural areas.

"The new salary structure shall be implemented immediately in the August payroll and arrears backdated to July 1, 2023. We assure our teachers that they will get their pay by the end of the month," she said.

Besides the salary increment, the deal also covers other terms of service such as promotions, career progression and workload for special needs education (SNE) teachers.

Macharia said that the TSC has concluded the promotion of 14,738 teachers in August 2023 and has advertised additional 36,275 vacancies for promotions.

"The objective of these promotions is to motivate teachers as they advance in their career to improve productivity and performance," she said.

She also said that the TSC has agreed to re-look at the career progression of Special Needs Education teachers and their workload, especially those who are stationed in special units, with a view to ensuring that they are optimally utilised.