- Nyamira parents have threatened legal action against ECDE teachers over allegations that children were taught protest songs referencing the county government’s unresolved grievances.
- The Nyamira County ECDE Teachers Association has revealed that over 600 of 687 ECDE teachers have remained on temporary contracts since 2013 and have gone unpaid for four months.
- County Executive Gladys Momanyi has cited financial constraints but pledged to present the teachers’ grievances at the county Cabinet’s next meeting.
Parents accuse teachers of using children to push grievances
Parents from Nyamira have threatened to move to court to sue ECDE teachers for allegedly using children to push for their grievances to be heard by the county government. The parents said some teachers have been teaching children lullabies with wording such as “Barua yangu imepotea” (“my letter has got lost”), in reference to the county government’s failure to respond to their grievances.
Speaking in Nyamira town on Tuesday, parents led by Jane Kerubo said they were shocked to hear their children, aged between four and six years, singing protest songs at home instead of normal classroom rhymes. They asked the Nyamira County Children’s Officer to take action against the teachers over alleged children’s rights abuse, arguing that teaching protest songs to minors to press a grievance against the government amounts to exploitation. Another parent, Peter Ombati from Manga, said his daughter came home singing that her letter had been lost, and when asked what it meant, she said her teacher told them the Governor had refused to listen to them.
The parents said the industrial action taken by the teachers is approaching a month since it started and is affecting children adversely, with many ECDE centres remaining closed, children idling at home, and those who report to school finding no teachers in class. They asked the Nyamira County Government to find an amicable solution with teachers instead of leaving the situation to worsen and harm learners.
According to a memorandum presented by the Nyamira County ECDE Teachers Association after a crisis meeting held at Nyamira Primary School on September 15, 2026, the teachers have a long list of unresolved grievances. The teachers said that out of 687 ECDE teachers on the county payroll, over 600 have been serving on temporary contracts since 2013 and have never been confirmed on permanent and pensionable terms as required by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, working without job security, pension or full medical cover.
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The teachers also claim they have not received salaries for four months, from May to August 2026, and that many have been removed from the county IFMIS payment system without explanation while loan deductions continue, pushing them towards CRB listing. The association said Nyamira ECDE teachers earn between Sh14,000 and Sh18,000 per month, the lowest in the Nyanza region compared to counterparts in Kisii, who earn Sh25,000 to Sh35,000, and Nairobi, where they earn up to Sh45,000. They are demanding implementation of the 2022 scheme of service for ECDE teachers.
Over 200 teachers who upgraded from certificate to diploma and degree qualifications between 2018 and 2024 have not been promoted or re-designated and remain paid as certificate holders, a situation the association said has demoralised many. The teachers also complained about poor working conditions, saying most ECDE centres lack proper classrooms, toilets, water, desks and playing materials, forcing them to teach under trees or in mud-walled rooms donated by parents, while primary sections enjoy NG-CDF-funded classrooms.
They said the promised county capitation of Sh1,000 per child, outlined in the county manifesto, has never been implemented, and that they are excluded from county trainings and benchmarking programmes enjoyed by other county staff, with no substantive Director of ECDE in place since the last one retired in 2023.
Association Secretary Benson Nyakundi said they have written more than twelve letters to the Governor, the County Public Service Board and the County Assembly Education Committee since January, all of which have gone unanswered, prompting the song about a lost letter.
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He denied that they are teaching children to riot, saying the song is part of the approved ECDE syllabus under music and movement, but acknowledged that their letters have indeed gone unanswered in Nyamira County offices.
County Executive for Education Dr Gladys Momanyi said the county is facing financial constraints but promised to table the teachers’ grievances at next week’s Cabinet meeting.
By Enock Okong’o
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