Poly instructors spend months without salaries, plead with governor to intervene

Youth Polytechnic Instructors have not received pay since they were hired in May 2022.
The Youth Polytechnic is being run by Kisii County Government headed by Governor Simba Arati

By Enock Okong’o

More than 42 Youth Polytechnic Instructors from Kisii County who have gone for days without being paid their dues have appealed to the governor to intervene for their salaries to be released.

The trainers who talked to Education News lamented that life has become unbearable for them since they were employed 10 months ago.

“Since May last year, we have been depending on borrowing from our friends and relatives to feed our families,” said one of the trainers.

The instructors who teach at Igonga Vocational Training College, one of the institutes run by the county government, said they have sought audience from the Governor but every time they attempted to meet him they were blocked by their directors.

“We have the governor’s assurance that we are bona fide County employees,” remarked Janepa Nyaboke, another Polytechnic trainer.

Kisii County General Secretary for County Polytechnics, Jared Nyagosia, agreed that the trainers were undergoing financial constraints.

”They have been complaining to us several times as we told them to endure but they are no longer patient now,” he said.

The secretary appealed to the authorities to consider paying the instructors even for two months as the map a way forward on how they can adjust and fit in the demanding life conditions.

‘These are people who have families. I ask the county to have a human heart,” he said.

When the trainers threatened to go on strike, Nyagosia requested them to employ dialogue as the best method of settling the dispute.