By John Majau
Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Tharaka Nithi Executive Secretary Mr Njeru Mutani has criticized the recent move by the Salaries and Remuneration Committee (SRC) to reduce the salaries of Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) teachers terming it as inhumane, unfair, ill-advised and unacceptable.
He called on SRC to instead, increase the salaries as per international labour laws adding that the lowest paid ECDE teacher should not earn less than Ksh 30,000 per month.
“According to what we know, they should be given a higher pay because the work they do is not commensurate to the pay they get,” said Mutani.
He faulted the SRC for coming up with such a drastic proposal before consultations and proper evaluation.
“SRC should do proper job evaluation to properly understand the kind of job these teachers perform. I don’t know how they arrived at the decision yet we have never seen them on the ground doing any evaluation,” said the KNUT official.
Mutani added the government should consider paying the ECDE teachers well to enable them set a good foundation for the country’s children.
On his part, Igembe North MP Joseph M’Eruaki said the proposal by SRC was very inconsiderate.
The MP said the SRC earns more allowance in a single sitting to discuss the salary issue than what an ECDE teacher earns in an entire month.
He added that just because one teaches an ECDE class, it does not mean that they do not need money like other workers.
“Their minimum salary should, in fact, be increased to Ksh 30,000. The pay should meet their basic needs and other necessities,” said M’Eruaki.
He wondered how the government wanted the teacher to mold the child to a future leader and yet they were reducing their salary.
