Early Childhood and Development Education teachers in Nyeri have a reason to celebrate after the county announced enhanced pay perks that will see the over 800 teachers receive a salary increase of between Sh11,000 and Sh22,000.
Speaking when he met with teachers at the Nyeri Cultural Centre, Nyeri governor, Mutahi Kahiga, said that the teachers would start receiving their enhanced pay at the end of the month.
According to the county boss, the increase comes after the successful development of a Scheme of Service by the Council of Governors and the approval of the new salaries by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.
“When I was the chairman of the Education Committee at CoG, I worked hard for you to get a Scheme of Service which is applicable to all the 47 counties so that an ECDE teacher in Turkana and the one in Nyeri are equal. The Scheme of Service not only provides you with better salaries but it also provides you with a clear path for career progression,” Kahiga told the teachers.
Last year, the county promoted 816 ECDE teachers who were previously working on contract to permanent and pensionable terms.
According to the Scheme of Service, the 177 ECDE teachers in Job Group ‘F’ who were previously receiving a gross monthly pay of Sh13,983 will now pocket Sh25,220 which is an increase of Sh11,237.
The 536 ECDE teachers in Job Group ‘G’ will now be taking home Sh31,550 per month up from the Sh15,424 that they were previously receiving. Teachers in Job Group ‘H’ received Sh 19,000 increase and will now take home Sh34,750 while those in Job Group ‘K’ which is the highest cadre, will now take home Sh52,833 which is a Sh22,000 increase from the Sh30,227 gross pay that they were previously receiving.
“The pay will be backdated to July this year,” stated Kahiga adding that the teachers had been elevated to the County Public Service Board standards meaning that like other county government staff, the ECDE teachers will now be receiving promotions and pay rise in line with the County Public Service Board regulations.
The governor further reiterated his commitment to improve the standards of the over 400 ECDE centres in the county. He said that the county had already delivered 150 tables and a similar number of modern chairs for ECDE teachers and plans were still ongoing to deliver the remaining 650 in a move that is meant to ensure that the teachers were working in a conducive environment. He at the same time challenged the teachers to support the county government by delivering results.
“We have journeyed together with you from elevating you from committing from contract to permanent to pensionable employment. As a county government we have also committed to supporting the ECDE centres by providing learning materials and equipment for you and the learners. You should now reciprocate by ensuring you give the best to these children,” said Kahiga.
By Wangari Mwangi
