President William Ruto has assented to the Supplementary Budget Appropriation Bill making it into law thus allowing Treasury Cabinet Secretary, John Mbadi, to withdraw money from the Consolidated Fund.
The mini budget which was approved by Members of Parliament (MPs) last week to allow the government to address liquidity crisis facing its key ministries.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has been allocated sh 24.2 billion which will be used to pay pending bills which include teachers salaries and arrears.
The allocation come after the Auditor General, Nancy Gathungu, said TSC is in a financial hole and facing sh. 7.5 billion budget deficit.
The audit report listed overspending, pending bills, and poor financial management as key drivers of insolvency that make TSC unable to pay teachers and cover other operational cost.
However TSC dismissed the Auditor’s report, saying it does not face financial crunch.
“Please be advised that the information circulating regarding a ‘Sh.7.9 Bn Financial Meltdown’ at the Teachers service Commission is false!” said TSC through its Social media handles.
However the budget will address many pending bills. A significant number of teachers are yet to be paid their salaries and other arrears.
They include intern and replacement teachers, teachers who were automatically promoted to next grade, teachers promoted in January, teachers deployed to junior and special schools and hardship zones, among others.
TSC employed a total of 24,000 junior school intern teachers and deployed them to schools in January.
The Commission also employed additional 9,159 teachers as replacement for teachers who exited service in 2025.
Most of these teachers are yet to receive their salaries three months after their employment.
The intern teachers were recruited on a one year internship contract running from 1st January to 31st December, 2026 while the replacement teachers were recruited on permanent and pensionable terms to replace teachers who exited TSC payroll through natural attrition.
The replacements included 7,065 posts for primary schools, 12 posts for junior schools and 2,082 posts for secondary schools.
However following this development the teachers will receive their salaries with all arrears in the April payroll which will close next week.
A junior school intern teacher earns a monthly stipend of sh 20,000 but receive around sh 18,000 after SHIF, Housing levy and NSSF deductions.
The replacement teachers are however entitled to full benefits especially after they complete their probation period.
The teachers will be paid full salary and allowance benefits. P1 teachers who are employed at grade B5 also known as primary teacher II will start with a basic salary of sh. 25,028 to a maximum of sh. 31,615.
In addition they will be entitled to a commuter allowance of sh. 4,000, annual leave allowance sh. 4,000 (paid once in January) and a hardship allowance of sh. 6,600 for those working in hardship areas.
The teachers will be paid a house allowance of sh. 3,500. Teachers working in Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru Cities, Nyeri, Eldoret, Thika, Kisii, Malindi, Kakamega and Kitale Municipalities will be paid sh. 4,500 while those working in Nairobi will get sh. 6,750 as house allowance.
They will get a comprehensive medical cover under Social Health Authority (SHA) through their monthly medical allowance.
The teachers will automatically be promoted to job group C1 after serving for three years.
For junior and senior school teachers their employment is different. Those with Diploma were employed at job group C1 while graduate teachers started at job group C2.
The graduate teacher at job group C2 also known as secondary teacher II will start with a basic salary of sh. 39,070 which will increase to a maximum of sh. 49,100.
In addition they will be entitled to a commuter allowance of sh. 5,000, annual leave allowance sh. 6,000 (paid once in January) and a hardship allowance of sh. 10,900 for those working in hardship areas.
The teachers will be paid a house allowance of sh. 9,600. Teachers working in Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru Cities, Nyeri, Eldoret, Thika, Kisii, Malindi, Kakamega and Kitale Municipalities will be paid sh. 12,800 while those working in Nairobi will get sh. 16,500 as house allowance.
Diploma teachers will be promoted to grade C2 after serving for three years while the graduates will be moved to grade C3 automatically after serving same period.
The teachers are currently serving a six month probation period before they can be converted to pnp.
“Note that the effective date of your appointment will be the date you report for duty. Your salary will be Ksh 300,336 p.a on the T-Scale 5 (Ksh 300,336 p.a to Ksh 379,380 p.a). You will also be entitled to Automatic House Allowance, Commuter Allowance and Hardship Allowance (where applicable),” reads an employment letter of a P1 teachers sent in a school in Kilifi.
The teachers will also enjoy all TSC leaves including payment of annual leave allowance which is done once in January each year.
Most of these leaves are applied and approved through an online platform except under special circumstances;
1. Sick Leave
2. Annual Leave
3. Compassionate Leave
4. Paternity Leave
5. Maternity Leave
6. Study Leave
7. Special Leave
8. Adoption Leave
9. Spouse of Diplomat Leave
