By Benedict Ng’etich
Kericho County Governor Dr. Erick Mutai has called for harmonization of the Scheme of Service for ECDE teachers in the country.
Speaking during the World Teachers’ Day event at Kericho Moi Gardens, the governor noted that it’s unfair there is a glaring disparity in the pay of the teachers across the 47 counties.
“A clear policy should be established to enable teachers move up the ladder quickly,” he said.
He thanked the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) for issuing clear guidelines on the pay of the teachers and promised to employ over 1,200 ECDE teachers in his county on permanent and pensionable terms by January 2023.
“We have a supplementary budget of Ksh 125 million which we have presented to the county assembly for approval. Once it is done, the teachers will be confirmed on permanent terms,” he said.
Dr Mutai, who is also the chair of the education committee at the Council of Governors, was accompanied by the new KNUT Kericho county Secretary General Ms. Ann Cheruiyot.
Early this year, the Senate Standing Committee on Labour and Social Welfare promised to work on a uniform scheme of service for all ECDE teachers.
Speaking during a joint session of the senators and members of the Kericho County Assembly to interrogate a petition filed by some ECDE teachers from Kericho County, committee chairman Mr Johnson Sakaja said the Council of Governors in 2018 accepted the proposed Scheme of Service by TSC but it couldn’t be implemented due to budgetary constraints.
Sakaja urged the senators and government to take the plight of ECDE teachers seriously since they lay the foundation for learners.
He ordered Kericho county executive led by acting Education CECM Dr Shadrack Mutai, the county Public Service Board and the representatives of the petitioners to write a report to the senate within the next 14 days to enable them write a final report on the guidelines touching on all the ECDE teachers in the county.
Dr Mutai, in turn, appealed to the County Assembly to set aside Ksh 226 million to be used to confirm the ECDE teachers on permanent terms in the next budget.
The Chairman of the County Public Service Board Prof. Joel Koech said the county treated all caregivers equally and that they had finalized scrutinizing TSC registered teachers in order to award them with better schemes of service.
