Daily Nation article

NEWS

Teachers’ wage bill up by Sh2.5bn

Story by NATION Correspondents
Publication Date: 5/11/2007
The Government will spend an additional Sh2.5 billion on salaries for its workers this month.

This follows the new salary perks for teachers announced recently. The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) secretary, Mr Gabriel Lengoiboni, disclosed this in Samburu yesterday.

Speaking at the launch of the Samburu Teachers Sacco front office, Mr Lengoiboni also noted that the commission needed 50,000 teachers to stem the current shortage.

Noting that some 36,000 children of school going age were still out of school, he urged pastoralists to take advantage of the free primary education programme to educate their children.

The TSC secretary made the announcement as the Bungoma Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) branch demanded 3,000 more teachers for local schools.

Branch executive secretary, Mr Fred Sichangi, said the teachers were needed to cater for about 5,000 pupils who had relocated from schools in the clash-torn Mt Elgon District.

Urgently need

“We urgently need 2,500 additional teachers for primary schools and another 500 for secondary schools,” Mr Sichangi said.

Seven teachers and five pupils have been killed in the violence in Mt Elgon, prompting desertion of 26 out of the district’s 107 schools. More than 170 teachers also fled the area.

Mr Sichangi warned that teachers in Bungoma would down tools in support of their colleagues in Mt Elgon unless the authorities moved fast to restore peace to facilitate learning activities.