ECDE Teachers Raise Alarm Over Poor And Unequal Salaries.
The Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) teachers have raised alarm over poor salaries and unequal pay across the 47 counties.
ECDE teachers are now protesting unequal pay by counties where some counties pay as low as Sh 7,500 per month while on the other hand, other counties pay ECDE teachers up to Sh 43,800 per month.
The ECDE teachers union has disclosed that the shortage of these teachers in schools across the country is attributed to poor pay which has led some to opt for other lucrative jobs offered by non-governmental organisations and other sectors.
Kenya Union of Pre-Primary Education Teachers (Kenoppet) Chairman Lawrence Otunga has raised alarm for the issue to be addressed with immediate effect.
According to Otunga the pay discrepancy among ECDE teachers need to be addressed with a lot of agency.
He revealed that Mandera, Garissa, Embu, Turkana, Kajiado, Kilifi, Kwale, Kiambu, Bungoma, Kisumu and Nairobi are among the best paying counties.
The Best Paying Counties
1. Mandera county
Diploma: Sh 43,800
Certificate: Sh 35, 700
Untrained teachers: Sh 26,400
2. Garissa County
Diploma: Sh 42,300
Certificate: Sh 35,000
Untrained teachers: Sh 26,000
3. Embu county
Diploma: Sh 37,000
Certificate: Sh 33, 000
4. Nairobi county
Diploma: Sh 33,000
Certificate: Sh 25,000
The Bottom 10 Paying Counties
The bottom ten paying counties include Kericho, Nyandarua, Baringo, Makueni, Nyeri, Uasin Gishu, Kitui, Laikipia, Nandi and Kirinyaga.
Some of these counties pay ECDE teachers a flat rate regardless of the level of education. The counties where ECDE teachers earn a flat rate include;
1. Kericho Sh 8,000
2. Nyeri Sh 12,650
3. Laikipia, Nyandarua and Uasin Gishu pay 10,000
Otunga said that the county public service board should pay the ECDE teachers according to the provision of the scheme of service as per the Early Childhood Education Act 2021.
He further said that the criteria for awarding the salary should be looked at so the gap between the highly and lowly paid ECDE teacher can be reduced.
