Special Duty Allowance For Teachers. Soon, teachers employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) as administrators will be compensated for their labor.
This is in response to a bill that a member of parliament submitted that aims to restrict the period of time that educators who take administrative posts can work in those roles before getting confirmed.
The bill also seeks to change how allowances are paid. If the Teachers Service Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2024 is passed by the National Assembly, it will provide assistance to a large number of teachers who have been working in unpaid administrative roles.
Furthermore, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has not gotten adequate financing, which has prevented hundreds of deserving teachers from receiving promotions.
In March, the commission elevated 36,505 teachers, but left out a large number of instructors who had been interviewed and were working as administrators. Last year, TSC experienced difficulties filling available positions because teachers were unable to meet the requirements.
Long stretches of stasis in the same job categories were blamed for this. “The Bill seeks to entrench fairness for teachers holding positions in acting capacity so that the TSC can give the appointments in a structured manner,” Mandera South MP Abdul Haro said in his speech to Parliament.
Special Duty Allowance For Teachers
The Bill seeks to amend Section 11 of No. 20 of the TSC Act, 2012 by introducing a new paragraph that states, “In consultation with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, facilitate payment of allowances to teachers in the manner set out in the Fourth Schedule.”
Furthermore, the Bill proposes amending No. 20 of 2012 to include a new Section 32A. The newly proposed article stipulates that the TSC must appoint a teacher in an acting capacity within a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of 6 months.
Additionally, it states that if a teacher is unfit for a position, they shouldn’t be assigned to act. An appointed teacher is limited to one post at a time.
A teacher employed on an acting basis may be eligible for a special duty allowance, under the Bill. In the case that there are no qualified instructors available, the Commission will provide special duty allowance to teachers assigned to administrative duties unrelated to teaching grades or stationed in dry or semi-arid locations.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) secretary-general, Collins Oyuu, stated that the law is in the best interests of educators and that he supports it. It is customary for workers to take a break of more than six months from employment.
It is not possible for many of our acting instructors to ask for an acting stipend. Mr. Oyuu claims that although sub-county directors choose instructors for acting roles, the TSC is in charge of promotions.
TSC Teachers in Acting Capacity
He asserted that TSC is circumventing the law by referring to teachers serving in acting capacities as “assignments of duties” as opposed to appointment letters. One such letter that Nation saw stated, “It has been decided that you be assigned duties of a head teacher with effect from…” Please be advised that this position is only temporary.
The letter makes no mention of receiving payment. Numerous benefits are available to teachers, including housing, commuting, and leave allowances.
In addition, there are allowances for leave and responsibility, and hardship funds for students allocated to schools in locations classified as hardship areas.
TSC Retreat With KUPPET
At a retreat in April, the TSC and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) spoke about allowances and promotions. But the parties could not agree on how much teachers on acting appointments should be paid.
“Kuppet decided that acting administrators are entitled to particular responsibilities and acting allowances in line with the Code of Regulations for Teachers.
The commission contended that they were no longer paid since acting roles were removed by SRC circulars. “Kuppet maintains that the commission is violating the law twice by using acting administrators and not paying them,” the union said in a statement following the retreat.
Before the teachers’ phase 2 compensation raise in July, senior TSC and Knut officials convened for a retreat in Naivasha, Nakuru County.
Special Duty Allowance For Teachers