- Ndindi Nyoro has proposed a national commission similar to TSC to harmonise ECDE teacher employment and salaries across all 47 counties.
- Counties have continued to apply inconsistent pay scales despite 2023 SRC guidelines, with some like Nyeri and Kericho harmonising salaries while others lag.
- The proposal forms part of Nyoro’s wider 2028 education agenda, which also includes free secondary education and a national schools feeding programme.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has proposed the creation of a national commission similar to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to harmonise the employment and salaries of Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teachers across the country’s 47 counties.
The proposal forms part of a broader education agenda Nyoro has been unveiling as he sets out policy positions ahead of 2028, alongside calls for free secondary education, a national schools feeding programme and greater flexibility in teacher transfers.
ECDE is currently a devolved function, with county governments constitutionally responsible for its delivery, including the recruitment, deployment and remuneration of ECDE teachers. This has resulted in significant disparities in salaries, allowances, recruitment procedures, promotion opportunities and welfare provisions from one county to another. Some counties have moved to harmonise pay in line with Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) guidelines issued in 2023, which set uniform salary bands for certificate, diploma and degree holders, but implementation has remained uneven. Counties including Kericho, Nyeri and Vihiga have adjusted salaries in line with the guidelines, while teachers in other counties, including Nyamira, have continued to earn far below the recommended rates and have threatened industrial action over delayed harmonisation.
Nyoro’s proposal would establish a dedicated national body to standardise ECDE teacher employment terms, a move that would require constitutional and legislative changes given the devolved status of early childhood education. A recent High Court decision rejected an attempt to place ECDE teacher recruitment exclusively under TSC, affirming the existing constitutional role of county governments in managing the function. Any restructuring of ECDE governance would therefore need to proceed through the appropriate legal process rather than an administrative directive.
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Nyoro has also proposed free secondary education beginning January 2028, targeting an estimated 3.5 million learners across roughly 9,500 senior secondary schools, to be financed through a pooled contribution of Sh10 billion from the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF), Sh10 billion from counties’ equitable share and Sh15 billion from the national government.
He has further proposed a Sh10,000 subsidy for boarding students and greater flexibility for teachers seeking transfers, particularly those who have served fewer than five years at their first stations.
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The debate over ECDE teacher welfare comes as Kenya continues rolling out Competency-Based Education (CBE), a system that places significant emphasis on the early years of learning as the foundation for later competency development. Analysts have noted that disparities in ECDE teacher remuneration and career progression across counties could have downstream effects on the consistency of foundational learning outcomes nationally, given that ECDE forms the entry point of the CBE pipeline.
By Hillary Muhalya
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