The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has announced salary increases for all teachers, along with changes in housing allowances. However, these adjustments result in only modest increases for specific job groups.
Salary Increases
- Job Grade B5 : The lowest job grade will see the highest percentage increase, with salaries rising by 4.5%. This means a teacher earning Sh22,793 will now receive Sh23,830 and a house allowance of Sh3,850.
- Job Grade D5 : Teachers in this highest grade will experience an increase ranging from 1.9% to 3.1%, depending on their current salary. Those at the highest salary point in this grade will see a Sh4,056 increase, while those at the lowest point will receive Sh3,005.
- Job Grade D3 (Principals and Deputy Principals): This group will see the smallest increase, with only Sh861 more, raising their salary from Sh105,182 to Sh106,043.
- Job Grade C5 (Senior Masters, Senior Lecturers, Head Teachers): The increase for this group varies between Sh984 and Sh2,608.
Housing Allowance Changes
- The TSC has reduced house allowances for teachers in Job Grade D4 (Senior Principals), especially in Cluster 1 (Nairobi), where the allowance drops from Sh50,000 to Sh45,000. Similarly, those in Cluster 2 (Mombasa, Kisumu, Nyeri, Nakuru, Eldoret, Thika, Kisii, Malindi, and Kitale) will see a reduction of Sh7,000.
- Cluster 3 (All Other Regions): Teachers here will now receive Sh21,000, which is Sh4,000 less than their previous allowance.
- The TSC has also eliminated Cluster 4 for house allowances, merging it with Cluster 3. This change affects about 87% of teachers, mostly in rural areas, though their allowance amount remains unchanged from last year.
These new salaries and allowances will be backdated to July 1, 2024, and will remain effective until June 30, 2025.
Union Reactions
A recent standoff occurred between the teachers’ unions and the TSC. Union officials expressed dissatisfaction, accusing the TSC of not meeting all their demands. The disagreement became public when the unions refused to hold a joint press conference with the TSC. TSC CEO Nancy Macharia attributed the delay in implementing Phase II of the 2021-2025 collective bargaining agreement to budget cuts across government ministries and agencies.
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