This article was submitted as a Reader’s View. The views and opinions expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Education News
The plight of Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teachers in Nandi County continues to raise serious questions about the county government’s commitment to the welfare of teachers and the future of early childhood education.
Two days ago, the Governor, who in 2022 promised ECDE teachers permanent employment, once again spoke about the issue. However, instead of giving teachers a clear commitment on permanent and pensionable terms, the conversation shifted to yoghurt for teachers as learners enjoy milk. This has left many ECDE teachers asking a simple question: what happened to the promise of permanent employment?
Teachers are not opposed to initiatives that improve the welfare of learners. Providing milk to children can certainly support their nutrition and attendance. But yoghurt cannot solve the employment challenges facing ECDE teachers. Teachers need salaries, job security and a secure future, not token gestures.
More concerning is the apparent shift of responsibility for the plight of ECDE teachers to the County Public Service Board. While the Board may have a role to play in matters of recruitment and employment, the political leadership of the county cannot simply distance itself from a promise made to teachers. If the Governor made a commitment to ECDE teachers in 2022, teachers have a legitimate right to ask why, years later, that promise remains unfulfilled.
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Meanwhile, Nandi County ECDE teachers continue earning stipends despite performing essential teaching duties every day. Their situation becomes even more painful when compared with their colleagues in neighbouring counties, who continue to enjoy enhanced salaries and better terms of employment. The disparity raises fundamental questions: why should an ECDE teacher in Nandi, doing essentially the same work as a teacher in a neighbouring county, continue surviving on a stipend? Why should teachers entrusted with laying the foundation of a child’s education be denied the dignity and security that comes with proper employment?
ECDE teachers are professionals, and they deserve to be treated as such. They have families to support, bills to pay and children of their own to educate. A stipend that barely meets basic needs cannot provide the stability required for a professional to serve effectively. The county government must therefore stop offering symbolic solutions to a fundamental employment problem. Milk is for learners. Yoghurt may be for nutrition. But employment is what teachers need.
The Governor should take responsibility for the commitments made to ECDE teachers and provide a clear, transparent and time-bound roadmap towards permanent and pensionable employment. The County Public Service Board should also be given the necessary political support and resources to address the matter fairly and transparently, rather than allowing the issue to become a political football between institutions.
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Nandi ECDE teachers are not asking for special treatment; they are asking for fair treatment. They are not asking for handouts; they are asking for decent employment. They are not asking for another promise; they are asking the leadership of Nandi County to honour the promise made in 2022.
The time has come for the county government to listen to the voices of ECDE teachers and address their plight with the seriousness it deserves. Nandi ECDE teachers need permanent jobs, not yoghurt. They need enhanced salaries, not stipends. They need action, not another promise.
By a Concerned ECDE Teacher
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