The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has informed the Education Committee in the National Assembly that budget cuts of Ksh.10 billion will affect the implementation of the second phase of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed with teachers’ unions in 2023.
According to TSC CEO Nancy Macharia, the overall budget cuts will also delay the absorption of Junior Secondary School intern teachers and the recruitment of 20,000 new teachers promised by the Kenya Kwanza Government.
Nancy Macharia warned that the failure to honor the CBA could result in court cases and strikes.
“When you sign a CBA with unions, you deposit it in court to show that you are obligated to implement it. So, we shall face litigation and seem like we are acting in bad faith,” Macharia told the Education Committee led by MP Julius Melly.
The committee members expressed concerns over the Treasury’s decision to cut expenses in such critical areas, with MP Phylis Bartoo questioning why the government was “reorganizing a critical budgetary item touching on personal emoluments of the workforce at such a time when the nation is facing upheaval.”
MP Dick Maungu accused the TSC of choosing to delay the implementation of the CBA when faced with budgetary cuts instead of reorganizing the budget in other sectors.
He warned that the government’s actions could set teachers against the government, as the “Gen-Zs that are on the streets are children of the teachers.”
The committee chair, MP Melly, directed the TSC and the Treasury to “go and discuss among yourselves and ensure that you don’t touch these items; this we will not allow.”
The medical cover scheme for teachers has also been slashed by 50 per cent, resulting in a shortfall of Ksh.11.8 billion, further adding to the challenges faced by the education sector.
Author: Mujuni Henry
JUNIITV
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