On a regular basis, the Teacher’s Service Commission (TSC) updates its list of hardship areas.
Tutors deployed to these regions are paid a monthly hardship stipend, which serves as an incentive because they are exposed to life-threatening situations such as poor working conditions and health concerns.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) announced on Tuesday that it is awaiting the issuance of a revised map of hardship zones by the Public Service Commission (PSC) so that teachers in those areas can get adequate allowances.
The most recent mapping has to be updated because it had been conducted a few years earlier.
TSC HARDSHIP AREAS AT THE MOMENT
The commission has recognized the following counties (sub-counties) in Kenya as teacher hardship areas:
S/NO County (SUB-COUNTIES)
1) . Baringo County’s sub-counties of Baringo North, Tiaty East, Tiaty West, and Marigat.
2) . County of Garissa
3) . HomaBay County’s Suba and Mbita sub-counties
4) . County of Isiolo
5) . Kajiado County’s Mashuuru, Loitoktok, and Kajiado West sub-counties
6).Kwale County
7) . Kilifi County’s Magarini and Ganze
8).Lamu County
9).Mandera County.
10).Marsabit County
11).Kitui County’s Mumoni, Mutito North, and Tseikuru Sub-Counties
12). Narok County’s Narok South and Narok North sub-counties
13).Samburu County .
14).Taita Taveta County
15).Tana River County
16).Turkana County
17).Wajir County .
18).West Pokot County
While some counties have been recognized as hardship zones, not all Sub-counties have been designated as hardship centers by the commission.
The Commission has excluded Nyandarua county, Muranga county, Kandara sub-county, Kigumo sub-county, and Nyahururu from hardship zones due to improved infrastructure.
ALLOWANCE FOR TSC HARDSHIP
TSC HARDSHIP GROUP ALLOWANCE PM
- B5 – 6,600
- C1 – 8,200
- C2 – 10,900
- C3 – 12,300
- C4 – 14,650
- C5 – 17,100
- D1 – 27,300
- D2 – 27,300
- D3 – 31,500
- D4 – 31,500
- D5 – 38,100
Following a positive review of the recently concluded data gathering exercise, thousands of teachers from four sub-counties are bracing for possible compensation rises.
Teachers in Nyando, Chonyi, Lungalunga, and Suba may soon be able to smile to the bank, as the government aims to put proposals from teams that gathered data on hard-hit districts into action.
Payment cannot be provided, however, until the official new hardship zones have been gazetted and a budget to capture the new areas has been approved.
Despite the fact that additional sub-counties received favorable assessments, the four garnered overwhelming approval, with some teams indicating specific zones and schools where the accommodations should be made.
On September 5th of last year, the Principal Secretary for Interior Services despatched five teams for a countrywide data collection exercise intended at examining hardship areas for public servants.
Representatives from the Ministries of Public Service and Gender, Interior and National Government Coordination, Education, the National Treasury, and Planning made up the teams.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the Public Service Commission, the Teachers Service Commission, the Council of Governors, the Commission on Revenue Allocation, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, and the Judiciary were also sent to various counties to gather data.
The exercise was a follow-up to the first phase, which the Technical Committee concluded in fiscal year 2020/2021.
The Technical Committee finished phase I of the exercise in fiscal year 2020/21, according to the PS.
During recruitment and deployment, TSC promises to take into account areas where teachers are in short supply.
Phase II of the experiment, however, was not able to be completed in the same year due to financial constraints.’
Lamu, Kilifi, and Kwale counties were visited by the officers. Chonyi, in Kilifi County, and Lungalunga, in Kwale County, were deemed to be among the hardest-hit places.
Laikipia, Meru North (Nyambene), Tharaka Nithi (Tharaka, Marimanti), and Nyandarua were among the other places visited (Nyahururu).
West Pokot, Turkana, Elgeyo-Marakwet, Baringo, Suba, Nyatike, Seme, and Tinderet were also visited.
Kitui North (Mutha), Kitui South (Endau and Malalani), Kitui East and Mwingi North (Kaningo), and Kalama locations in Garissa, Wajir, and Mandera counties, as well as Kitui North (Mutha), Kitui South (Endau and Malalani), Kitui East and Mwingi North (Kaningo), and Kalama counties, were all visited.
Murang’a (Kakuzi, Maragua), Kiambu (Ndeiya), Nakuru (Mbogoni and Makongeni), and Nyeri are among the others (Kieni).
TSC CEO Nancy Macharia stated on Tuesday that the teacher shortage, particularly in the North-East, is caused by frequent terrorist attacks that force instructors to quit the area.
Apart from terrorist attacks, Macharia pointed out that the country’s teacher shortage is due to underfunding by the government.
She encouraged teachers who had retired at the age of 60 but hadn’t yet turned 65 to apply for jobs in the North-Eastern region.
Dr. Macharia also urged the government to hire 40, 000 more teachers and provide financing for the hiring of interns and permanent teachers.
