Kwale governor Salim Mvurya has said that his county government has so far employed 900 ECDE teachers on permanent and pensionable terms since coming of devolution.
Mvurya said through ‘Elimu ni Sasa initiative’ the county has been able to boost education at various levels.
He said a total of 560 ECDE centres across the county have been constructed to encourage children to develop their skills.
“We have build more than 560 ECDE Centers across the county and employed More than 900 qualified teachers on permanent and pensionable basis that teach and encourage our children to develop their skills,” said Mvurya during the ground breaking for construction of Bondeni ECDE in Mwereni ward.
Kwale county is among the list of few counties that have agreed to implement fully the ECDE schemes of service for teachers.
Other counties that have publicly accepted to implement the document are; Bomet, Homabay, Embu, Nyandarua, Tana River, Narok, Kericho, Turkana, Kilifi and Wajir.
Data from the Council of Governors (CoG) shows 42,457 ECDE teachers have been employed by county governments, 13,502 of who are on permanent and pensionable terms, while 28,955 are on three-year contracts.
Counties recruit ECDE teachers through the County Public Service Boards (CPSB) in line with the ECDE Teachers’ Scheme of Service launched in 2018.
The devolved units are grappling with a Sh2.08 billion annual budget gap for the full implementation of the scheme of service for ECDE teachers.
Last week the Senate asked the 47 county governments to increase the salaries of 42,700 nursery school teachers within 60 days.
In a report to the House, the Education committee says 23 counties have not initiated any process to implement an existing scheme of service for early childhood development education teachers (ECDE).
The committee said only eight counties have fully implemented the scheme of service while 16 have partially done so.
“The 23 counties have not initiated any process to implement the scheme of service. They pay ECDE teachers’ stipend with most of the teachers paid by parents,” said Alice Milgo, who chairs the committee.
Ms Milgo said out of the 42,700 teachers employed by county governments, 13,502 are permanently employed while 28,300 are on contract.
Another 4,000 were remunerated by parent teachers’ associations.
Some counties pay as low as Sh7,000, with the highest paying county paying Sh40,000. Most counties employ ECDE teachers on contract as opposed to permanent and pensionable terms.
The committee compiled the report following a petition by Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua regarding the plight of ECDE teachers and the poor status of ECD classrooms.
The committee said its interaction with stakeholders revealed that most counties pay ECDE teachers below government minimum wage.
“Some ECDE teachers received stipends for work done since 2013. This is despite a draft scheme of service being validated by stakeholders, the National Treasury, the Teachers Service Commission and the National Treasury,” Ms Milgo said.
She said counties had employed teachers on poor terms yet there is an approved scheme of service and remuneration structure for ECDE teachers.
“The committee recommends that all county governments should provide a budget for ECDE and effect salary increment within 60 days of tabling this report,” she said.
The committee has also recommended that the Council of Governance (CoG) review the job description for the ECDE teachers and submit it to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) for review within 100 days.
The committee has further asked the CoG to establish a career progression for the ECDE teachers within 90 days of tabling the report.
“The committee recommends that county governments and their county assemblies should enact legislation to increase the budget for the ECDE to at least 10 percent of county revenue. This will turn around education at the county level,” Ms Milgo said.
The committee also wants Parliament to fast track the passage of the County Governments Grants Bill, 2021 so that county governments ring-fence grants for the ECD.
Below is the highlight of how ECDE teachers will be paid should the schemes of service be implemented fully.
BASIC SALARY
| New Designation | Job group as per SoS | SRC equivalent job group | Basic salary as per SRC |
| Assistant ECDE Teacher III | F | C1 | 30,441 |
| Assistant ECDE Teacher II | G | C2 | 37,561 |
| Assistant ECDE Teacher I | H | C3 | 44,040 |
| Senior Assistant ECDE Teacher III | J | C4 | 52,220 |
| Senior Assistant ECDE Teacher II | K | C5 | 61,373 |
| Senior Assistant ECDE Teacher II | L | D1 | 90,336 |
| ECDE Teacher III | H | C3 | 44,040 |
| ECDE Teacher II | J | C4 | 52,220 |
| ECDE Teacher I | K | C5 | 61,373 |
| Senior ECDE Teacher III | L | D1 | 90,336 |
| Senior ECDE Teacher II | M | D2 | 98,607 |
| Senior ECDE Teacher I | N | D3 | 114,674 |
| Graduate ECDE Teacher III | K | C5 | 61,373 |
| Graduate ECDE Teacher II | L | D1 | 90,336 |
| Graduate ECDE Teacher I | M | D2 | 98,607 |
| Principal Graduate ECDE Teacher II | N | D3 | 114,674 |
| Principal Graduate ECDE Teacher I (Assistant Director) | P | D4 | 135,243 |
| Senior Principal Graduate ECDE Teacher (Deputy Director) | Q | D5 | 144,760 |
| Chief Principal Graduate ECDE Teacher (Director) | R | E1 | 175,261 |
HOUSE ALLOWANCE
| New Designation | Job group as per SoS | SRC equivalent job group | House allowance |
| Assistant ECDE Teacher III | F | C1 | 4,500 |
| Assistant ECDE Teacher II | G | C2 | 6,750 |
| Assistant ECDE Teacher I | H | C3 | 6,750 |
| Senior Assistant ECDE Teacher III | J | C4 | 10,000 |
| Senior Assistant ECDE Teacher II | K | C5 | 16,500 |
| Senior Assistant ECDE Teacher II | L | D1 | 28,000 |
| ECDE Teacher III | H | C3 | 6,750 |
| ECDE Teacher II | J | C4 | 10,000 |
| ECDE Teacher I | K | C5 | 16,500 |
| Senior ECDE Teacher III | L | D1 | 28,000 |
| Senior ECDE Teacher II | M | D2 | 28,000 |
| Senior ECDE Teacher I | N | D3 | 35,000 |
| Graduate ECDE Teacher III | K | C5 | 16,500 |
| Graduate ECDE Teacher II | L | D1 | 28,000 |
| Graduate ECDE Teacher I | M | D2 | 28,000 |
| Principal Graduate ECDE Teacher II | N | D3 | 35,000 |
| Principal Graduate ECDE Teacher I (Assistant Director) | P | D4 | 45,000 |
| Senior Principal Graduate ECDE Teacher (Deputy Director) | Q | D5 | 45,000 |
| Chief Principal Graduate ECDE Teacher (Director) | R | E1 | 50,000 |
COMMUTER ALLOWANCE
| New Designation | Job group as per SoS | SRC equivalent job group | Commuter allowance |
| Assistant ECDE Teacher III | F | C1 | 3,000 |
| Assistant ECDE Teacher II | G | C2 | 4,000 |
| Assistant ECDE Teacher I | H | C3 | 4,000 |
| Senior Assistant ECDE Teacher III | J | C4 | 4,000 |
| Senior Assistant ECDE Teacher II | K | C5 | 5,000 |
| Senior Assistant ECDE Teacher II | L | D1 | 6,000 |
| ECDE Teacher III | H | C3 | 4,000 |
| ECDE Teacher II | J | C4 | 4,000 |
| ECDE Teacher I | K | C5 | 5,000 |
| Senior ECDE Teacher III | L | D1 | 6,000 |
| Senior ECDE Teacher II | M | D2 | 8,000 |
| Senior ECDE Teacher I | N | D3 | 8,000 |
| Graduate ECDE Teacher III | K | C5 | 5,000 |
| Graduate ECDE Teacher II | L | D1 | 6,000 |
| Graduate ECDE Teacher I | M | D2 | 8,000 |
| Principal Graduate ECDE Teacher II | N | D3 | 8,000 |
| Principal Graduate ECDE Teacher I (Assistant Director) | P | D4 | 12,000 |
| Senior Principal Graduate ECDE Teacher (Deputy Director) | Q | D5 | 14,000 |
| Chief Principal Graduate ECDE Teacher (Director) | R | E1 | 16,000 |
LIST OF TOP TEN BEST PAYING AND POORLY PAYING COUNTIES FOR ECDE TEACHERS
TOP TEN BEST PAYING COUNTIES FOR ECDE TEACHERS
1. Kilifi county 24,000 (Certificate) 35,000 (Diploma)
2. Tana River county 24,000 (Certificate) 32,000 (Diploma)
3. Embu county 33,000 (Certificate) 37,000 (Diploma)
4. Turkana county 31,662 (Certificate) 34,662 (Diploma)
5. Kajiado county 25,000 (Certificate) 35,000 (Diploma)
6. Garissa county 35,000 (Certificate) 42,300 (Diploma)
7. Kwale county 25,000 (Certificate) 32,000 (Diploma)
8. Kiambu county 25,000 (Certificate) 28,000 (Diploma)
9. Kisumu county 31,880 (Certificate) 34,900 (Diploma)
10. Bungoma county 25,000 (Certificate) 32,000 (Diploma)
TOP TEN POORLY PAYING COUNTIES FOR ECDE TEACHERS
1. Kericho county 8,000 (Flat rate for Certificate and Diploma)
2. Baringo county 10,000 (Certificate) 11,000 (Diploma) 12,000 (Degree)
3. Nyandarua county 10,000 (Flat rate for Certificate, Diploma and Degree)
4. Nyeri county 12,650 (Flat rate for Certificate, Diploma and Degree)
5. Makueni county 12,000 (Certificate) 14,000 (Diploma)
6. Narok county 12,000 (Certificate) 14,000 (Diploma) 16,000 (Degree)
7. Nandi county 10,000 (Certificate) 12,000 (Diploma) 15,000 (Degree)
8. Kitui county 9,000 (Certificate)12,000 (Diploma)
9. Laikipia county 10,000 (Flat rate for Certificate, Diploma and Degree)
10. Uasin Gishu county 10,000 (Flat rate for Certificate, Diploma and Degree)