The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) now says it will only award all teachers a salary increment if it gets sh 54 billion its seeking from Treasury.
TSC now wants Parliament to approve its plan of awarding teachers a payrise in July.
The Commission has outlined plans to review the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) it signed with teachers unions, Knut, Kuppet and Kusnet.
The Commission is seeking Sh54 billion over the next four years starting July 2023 to raise salaries for teachers from B5 to D5.
Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia said although trade unions signed the 2021-2025 CBA, it didn’t contain any monetary value, a move that would now be the subject of a review.
“The commission negotiated a non-monetary 2021-2025 CBA with the teacher unions pursuant to the advisory from the Salaries Review Commission. It was agreed that the CBA be reviewed mid-term if the economic situation would improve in the country,” Dr Macharia told members of the National Assembly Education and Research Committee chaired by Julius Melly.
“The Commission would wish to review the 2021-2025 CBA, more specifically the salary component with an aim to motivate teachers under the employment of the Commission.” She added.
“Accordingly, we request this Committee to support the Commission get Sh14 billion per year for four years to cater for the same.”
Dr Macharia also announced plans to recruit 20,000 new teachers in the next financial year to address the shortage of staff mainly at the Junior Secondary School level.
She urged Parliament to allocate the Commission Sh3.8 billion for the recruitment in the next budget to be presented in June.
The announcement comes after TSC recruited 30,000 teachers the majority of them who were posted in the Junior Secondary School with each institution receiving at least one member of staff.
Stakeholders have raised questions over the staffing crisis in schools arguing that one teacher was inadequate top handle all the 12 subjects on offer at the Junior Secondary School level.
But Dr Macharia said the Commission was determined to fix the shortage of teachers, which stood at 116,000 at the start of this year.
TSC will receive sh 2.2 billion it requested for promotion of 14,000 teachers in July. The Education Committee of Parliament approved the budget for promotion of teachers who have stagnated at one job grade for long.
The commission is seeking to promote 13,713 principals, deputy principals, senior masters, secondary teachers, head teachers and deputy head teachers in secondary and primary schools.
The highest vacancies in this category are Deputy Head Teacher II for regular primary schools, which has 7,720 posts.
TSC will also promote 2,733 head teachers for regular primary schools, 1,330 secondary teacher I, 725 deputy principal II, 602 principals for regular schools, 224 deputy principal III for secondary schools and some 208 Senior Master II.