The contentious proposal from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) directing county governors to pay Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) teachers extremely low monthly salaries has drawn protests from the Kenya Union of Pre-Primary Education Teachers (KUNOPPET).
The Nation reported that according to the SRC’s recommendations, the lowest-paid ECDE teachers (ECDE Teacher III (Certificate)) should receive a minimum salary of Ksh. 7,836 and a maximum of Ksh. 8,717, while the highest-paid ECDE teachers (Senior ECDE Teacher I (Diploma)) should be paid a minimum salary of Ksh. 15,224 and a maximum of Ksh. 19,090.
On Sunday, KUNOPPET Chairman Lawrence Otunga spoke to the media and stated that they would not stand by and watch nursery teachers be despised and humiliated by receiving little pay and should be treated the same as other public employees.
Otunga vowed to fight for the revision of the salary recommendation until when a reasonable decision is met.
“We are not happy with SRC’s decision to humiliate us. Is seven thousand enough salary for a teacher? How will a teacher pay house rent and pay school fees for their children? A teacher also has their personal needs and families to take care of,” he said.
“We deny the recommendations from SRC to governors and we say that nursery teachers will not be despised and we are here to fight for the rights of every ECDE teacher.”
Chairman Otunga further censured Governors against implementing the SRC orders, reiterating that the recommended pay cannot support any individual given the current economical hurdles.
“There are some governors who have already sent letters saying that they have started to implement the SRC orders. We shall not allow any county to pay its ECDE teachers Ksh.7K,” he said.
“There are teachers who earn up to Ksh.60K some Ksh.70K now you want to deduct that to Ksh.7K? How will is that possible?”
