ECDE Teachers Updated Salaries With Hefty Perks
The Senate has proposed significant improvements for Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teachers, contingent upon adoption by the Council of Governors (CoG). This proposal includes extending capitation funding to ECDE centers, akin to primary, secondary, and vocational education levels.
Kahiga Mutahi, Chairman of the CoG Education Committee, emphasized that capitation would enable the permanent and pensionable employment of more ECDE teachers. This funding would also cover essential needs such as teaching materials, school meals, classroom management, and infrastructure, which currently strain the ECDE budget.
The Senate Education Committee has recommended that the National Treasury allocate grants to counties to support these initiatives. Additionally, they suggest that counties should implement an ECDE teachers’ scheme of service and provide funds for salary increments to meet minimum standards set by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC). The slow implementation of this scheme has led to irregular payment schedules, negatively affecting teacher morale.
Further directives from the committee include having county public service boards and the Intergovernmental Technical Relations Committee review ECDE tutors’ job descriptions and roles. The committee also called on the CoG, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), and the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) to collaborate within 90 days to enhance ECDE teachers’ management, capacity building, and the rollout of the competency-based curriculum (CBC) for ECDE learners and teachers.
According to CoG data, there are 32,656 ECDE teachers employed across 38 counties, with only 2,407 on permanent and pensionable terms while 30,249 are on contracts. The report noted disparities in the implementation of the scheme of service: five county governments have fully implemented it, five have partially implemented it, and the rest have yet to implement it.
Salary data reveals that the lowest-paid ECDE certificate holder earns Ksh 9,420 monthly, while the highest-paid graduate teacher earns Ksh 59,770. Most ECDE teachers earn between Ksh 12,000 and Ksh 22,000 per month.
The Senate also recommends creating a framework for conditional grants and ring-fencing funds to improve the ECDE sector. It suggests that county governments allocate adequate resources and that county assemblies legislate to increase the annual budgetary allocation for the ECDE sector to at least 10 percent of county revenue.
Finally, the Senate urges the Ministry of Education and the TSC to assist quality assurance and standards officers in conducting thorough monitoring and inspections of ECDE centers to ensure the highest standards of education and care.
ECDE Teachers Updated Salaries With Hefty Perks
