Kenyan teachers third highest paid in Africa – President Kenyatta

President Uhuru Kenyatta has pointed out that Kenyan teachers are the third highest paid in Africa.

In his State of the Nation address on Sunday, President Kenyatta stated that only teachers in Morocco and South Africa earn more than their Kenyan counterparts who are above those in Uganda and Tanzania.

“The lowest paid teacher in Uganda earns the equivalent of Sh 7,600, the lowest paid in Tanzania earns Sh 15,800, compared to the lowest-paid Kenyan teacher who takes home over Sh 23,000, which is seven times as much as his counterpart in Burundi,” said President Kenyatta.

“Indeed, Kenya’s teachers are the third highest-paid on the continent, after Morocco and South Africa both of whose economies are larger ours.”

The Head of State stated that 55 per cent of all teachers employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), translating to approximately 168,000, are in job groups J to N, earning between Sh 35,000 and Sh 75,000 a month.

These figures, said President Kenyatta, are higher than what teachers in private schools earn yet they “ironically perform better than their public counterparts.”

The President noted that P1 certificate-holder enter the public service at job group G, with other public servants of similar qualifications adding that a graduate teacher enters public service at job group K, the same as engineers and other specialised professionals.

1997 agreement was honoured

Uhuru also dispelled reports that TSC owes teachers money under the 1997 agreement saying teachers were awarded a pay rise of between 150 per cent and 200 per cent following the agreement.

“A P1 teacher who earned a gross salary of Sh 7,762 then now earns a minimum of Sh 23,692, while the highest paid teacher who took home Sh 35,886 then now earns a minimum of Sh 140,089.

President Kenyatta revealed that effecting the 50 to 60 per cent pay increment will leave the government with a deficit of Sh118 billion.

“In this financial year, Sh174 billion was set aside to pay teachers, up from Sh 139 billion last year. If the award were paid, we would have to find an additional Sh 118 billion, to meet the salary and pension obligations of the award.”

To effect the increment, he said, the government will have to raise taxes from 16 per cent to 22 per cent a move that will raise the cost of living and slow down the country’s economy.

President Kenyatta’s address comes days after the government ordered the closure of all private and public primary and secondary schools due to safety concerns for pupils following a the three-week teachers strike.

The decision, made after a special cabinet meeting, however, ordered that Standard 8 and Form Four candidates stay in school with TSC teachers availed to help them prepare for national exams, which will go ahead as planned.

The strike enters the fourth week on Monday as teachers, through their unions, Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), vow to stay away from class until the pay rise awarded by the Employment and Labour Relations Court is effected.

Watch the full address in the video embedded here.