TSC Chairperson Nancy Macharia before National Assembly Committee on education, which demanded to know why teachers have not been receiving allowances despite budgetary allocation. Photo: KNA.
Committee of Education Members of the National Assembly, were left in utter shock after on Thursday, May 29 after revelation of 99,000 teachers in acting capacity without allowances for six, despite provision in the budget allocation.
The committee chaired by Tinderet MP Julius Melly, faulted teachers employer, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for failing to implement its own regulations.
Melly along side his members MPs Nabii Nabwera of Lugari, Clive Gisairo of KItutu Masaba and Christine Ombaka Siaya County Woman Representative demanded on an explanation on where the commission takes the allocated money.
The MPs said that the mismatch in the commission is the genesis of introduction of the TSC Amendment Bill, which is being sponsored by Mandera South MP Abdul Haro, that seeks to amend the TSC Act NO 20 of 2012 to provide for various allowances that the commission may pay to teachers over and above their basic pay.
“This Bill is a desperate measure that was brought because TSC had failed to carry out their duties. We know that at the end of it all we will have a problem because once we put this in law it will be a challenge to increase allowances,” Melly stated.
The allowances include house allowances, commuter allowances, hardship allowances, special duty allowance, responsibility allowance, special school allowance, readers facilitation or aid allowances, leave allowances and transfer allowances.
Lugari legislator Nabwera demanded an explanation to understand why TSC has not been paying the allowances yet it had been budgeted for, while MP Ombaka demanded to know where the money goes.
Additionally, Emuhaya MP and KUPPET National Chairperson Omboko Milemba and Deputy Secretary General Moses Nthurima, accused the commission of misusing teachers by not paying them their dues.
Their queries come after the committee approved over 23,000 teachers for promotion after months of vetting and scrutiny of the names by TSC.
However, KUPPET Marsabit SG Sarr Galgalo, also faulted the commission for demoting 185 teachers who had received letters of promotion early this year, terming the move as unfair.
Galgalo further faulted the commission for failing allocate the 431 slots meant for Marsabit teachers, and instead allocating only 246 slots, which he said has demoralized teachers in the county, who have been working in a similar position without promotion for more than 10 years.
