In the national budget read yesterday, there was nothing to cheer about for teachers. Teachers’ salaries were not changed as a result of the budget.
Unfortunately, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the teachers’ unions Knut, Kuppet, and Kusnet were unable to reach an early agreement to add monetary benefits in the CBA 2021-2025.
This would imply a change in the national budget that would affect teacher salaries and allowances.
In the 2022/23 Financial Year budget, the Education sector received Sh544.4 billion.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has been awarded Sh294.7 billion, university education has been given Sh91.2 billion, and the Higher Education Loans Board has been given Sh15.8 billion.
National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani stated in Parliament yesterday that Sh12 billion will be spent on Free Primary Education and another Sh2.5 billion will be spent on teacher recruitment. When compared to the terrible scarcity of tutors at our educational institutions, this is a drop in the ocean.
Free Day Secondary Education will receive Sh64.4 billion, including insurance for secondary school students under the National Hospital Insurance Fund.
“We are dedicated to ensuring that our children and youth have access to high-quality education.” This would allow them to reach their full potential and effectively contribute to the country’s progress,” Yatani remarked.
The CS also proposed allocating Sh1.2 billion for teacher training in Competency-Based Curriculum, as well as Sh310 million for the Digital Literacy Program and ICT integration in secondary schools.
Sh4 billion has been allocated available by the Treasury for the construction of CBC classrooms.
At the same time, the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) received the lion’s share of the Sh146.8 billion proposed for the health sector in the 2022/23 Financial Year, indicating that the government is committed to seeing it realized.
UHC was allocated Sh62.3 billion yesterday by National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani, up from Sh47.7 billion the previous Financial Year.
As President Uhuru Kenyatta prepares to leave office following the August 9 elections, UHC is one of his legacy projects.
Mr Speaker, I propose allocating Sh146.8 billion to the health sector to fund various programs targeted at improving health outcomes,” Yatani said in Parliament Wednesday when presenting his budget recommendations for this year.
“Sh47.7 billion would be used to fund initiatives and programs aimed at achieving Universal Health Coverage,” he added.
In November 2018, the government launched the UHC pilot program in four counties — Isiolo, Kisumu, Machakos, and Nyeri – before announcing the national deployment in February this year.
When he presented the full rollout in Mombasa, Uhuru remarked that the passage of the NHIF (Amendment) Act was a watershed moment in health insurance, on which UHC’s success will be built.
