Teachers’ welfare body warns gov’t against any move to scrap hardship allowance

By Roy Hezron

The Kenya Teachers in Hardship and Arid Areas Welfare Association (KTHAAWA) has warned the government against scrapping allowances to their disadvantage, terming the plans ill-advised.

The group’s National Secretary Wangonya Wangenye told Education News during a recent interview that teachers working in those areas are under extreme difficult conditions such as insecurity and harsh climate.

He stated that in fact, the government should increase the hardship allowance by up to 50 per cent from the current 30 for more to be willing to work in those regions.

“We vehemently oppose the proposal to scrap hardship allowance in some areas in Kenya,” said Wangenye.

Wangenye, who is the former Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Laikipia branch Executive Secretary, said they will down their tools if the government makes good its threat.

“Anything that touches on lowering, leave alone withdrawing, the hardship allowance will ignite instant and spontaneous demonstrations and strike in hardship zones across the country,” said Wangenye.

Few years ago, the government dispatched fact-finders to different parts of the country with a view to reviewing currently listed hardship areas to determine additional or removal of some areas from the list.

In March 2021, the SRC through a circular titled ‘Allowances and Benefits Policy and Implementation Guidelines for the Public Sector’, restructured hardship allowances in what it termed as “allowances whose rates are not commensurate with intended purpose”.

It argued that with devolution, counties are no longer hardship areas and those classifications are merely expansive geographical locations, while others are pockets within a county.

“Devolution has implied that counties are no longer necessarily hardship areas since they are receiving equalization funds to promote devolution in the counties, thereby addressing the characteristics of hardship areas,” read part of the policy.

Wangenye, who at one point was the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) in charge of education in Nyandarua County, decried the poor treatment of teachers in bandit-hit areas of Laikipia, Baringo, West Pokot, and Elgeyo Marakwet.

Wangenye stated that hardship zone teachers have the biggest workloads since those schools are understaffed.

“We want to give a very strong warning to these state agencies that we cannot have government officers living and staying in air conditioned houses, rooms and offices in Nairobi, and they are reviewing hardship areas for teachers who are working under hard climatic conditions in security prone areas,” said Wangenye.

In the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed between the teacher Unions and TSC, the hardship allowance for the lowest teacher (Primary Teacher II at grade B5 T-Scale 15) is Ksh6,600 per month while the highest (Chief Principal at grade D5 T-Scale 15) earns Ksh38,100.

He reiterated that the only thing the government can do at this moment is to motivate those teachers who are already working in those areas.

There are close to 100,000 teachers who are currently working in hardship areas in various counties countrywide.

Number of teachers in hardship areas across counties