The government has been cautioned against removing hardship allowance for teachers and other civil servants as the step will plunge learning in the classroom into problems.
Kisii University don Dr. Erick Onsongo says that the move will demoralize teachers and lead to diluted standard of education in the country
“The government is supposed to motivate her workers with increment of salaries and promotions for smooth running of the system instead of discouraging them and expect desirable results,” he said.
The scholar blamed the Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi for the impending government’s proposal to scrap the allowances of teachers serving in hardship zones for the purpose of limiting the government expenditure.
His sentiments were echoed by Nyamira County KNUT executive Secretary Nicolas Nyang’au who said that most teachers survive on loans from banks which they borrowed basing their repayment on the total amount they earn including their hardship allowances, and argued that denying them the allowances will be tantamount to forcing them into an economic suicide.
Nyang’au asked the government to find the best ways of harmonizing and increasing the teachers’ allowances instead of using imaginary excuses of lack of enough money in the Government treasury.
He cited frequent visits by Government officials to foreign countries and other none urgent expenditure like the renovation of the prominent government servants’ residences.
Nyang’au foresees an alarming exodus of teachers moving from the zoned hardship areas to leave the students unattended.
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He said teachers are the easiest government civil servants to handle because they do not demand much apart from their salaries and amicable working relationship from the communities they serve, asked the government to toss them from one situation to another especially by provoking them, by touching their economic welfare.
“We ask the government dare to scrap the allowances and they will witness the worst ever teachers’ peaceful demonstration over what rightfully belongs to them,” he said.
According to Kenya Teachers Hardship and Arid Areas Welfare Association (KETHAWA) scrapping their hardship allowances will reflect a conspicuous long stay disregard and negligence of the teachers who play a pivotal in shaping the lives of this country’s children and the rest of the world.
They asked the government to review the allowances and update them upward instead of swindling and using them to molest innocent teachers instead of encouraging them for collecting national development services.
By Enock Okong’o.
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