A total of 32,000 teachers will be smiling all the way to the bank after they bagged promotions following their exit from the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT).
Tthe 32,000 teachers, largely from B5 job group would be promoted to the C1 job group.
This is after the tutors accepted the Career Progression Guidelines (CPGs) that has for a while been opposed by the teachers union headed by Wilson Sossion.
It has also revealed that up to 15,000 teachers were poised for a promotion in the future.
Others to be promoted are teachers in grades C1 and C2, diploma and degree holders, respectively, under the Common cadre establishment.
According to TSC records, there are 15,140 teachers at Grade C1 while 43,557 tutors are at Grade C2.
Though their names missed from the July 1st 2020 payroll, the effective date the fourth and final phase was implemented, which runs to June 30th 2021, the teachers will receive their benefits.
In an Internal Memo by Acting Director, Integrated Payroll and Personnel Data (IPPD), J.W. Ndege, had said the first group is 5,900 teachers who self-exited the T-pay system through the Third Party self-care portal.
“Teachers in CBA 2 are migrated monthly after they self-exit on T-pay system through the Third Party self-care portal,” Ndege stated in the memo.
Arrears accrued from July 1st 2019 are paid in the following month after migration from CBA 2 to CBA 3 or 4.
“Accordingly, attached is a list of 5,900 records of teachers migrated from CBA 2 but have not been paid arrears because the record was edited in the month of migration,” she said.
For example, a teacher in grade C5 at CBA 2 earning a monthly salary of Sh40,849 and who migrated to CBA 3 will receive Sh51,632, and this will increase to Sh62,272 on the lower side and Sh64,631 on the higher side in CBA 4.
The second group to be promoted is 1,932 teachers interdicted, and in grade B5 T Scale 5 designated as Primary Teacher II will be promoted to grade C1 T Scale 6.
They will be designated as Secondary Teacher III/Secondary Teacher III-UT Certificate/Lecturer III/Primary Teacher I.
Teachers who have served for three years and above on grade B5 qualified to be upgraded to grade C1 from July 1st 2020 and adopted July as their incremental month.
However, teachers under Schemes of Service (CBA) were not upgraded to grade C1.
According to the Code of Regulation for Teachers (2015), the Commission may refuse to consider a teacher for promotion if the teacher has not completed two years from the date he or she was found guilty following disciplinary action.
During the period of interdiction, a teacher receives a half monthly salary, is not promoted and misses other privileges.
The lowest-paid teacher will see their salary increase from Sh21,756 to Sh27,195 per month while the highest will see their monthly salary increase from Sh27,195 to Sh33,994.
Teachers in grade C1 and C2 who are diploma and degree holders respectively must fulfil requirements as stipulated in the Teachers Career Guidelines to be promoted under the common cadre.
Under the common cadre, a teacher is automatically promoted after serving for three years and above, rather than being subjected to interviews.
Others considered are those who might possess an added advantage, based on school performance or teachers’ track record or acquisition of higher qualification.
Teachers in C1 are designated as Secondary Teacher III-UT certificate, Secondary Teacher III, Lecturer III and Primary Teacher I.
Those in C2 are designated as Secondary Teacher II-UT graduate, Secondary Teacher II, Secondary Teacher II-Technical certificate, SNE Teacher II-Primary, Lecturer II and Senior Teacher II.
2018 data indicated that are 43,557 teachers in grade C2 and 15,140 in grade C1. The lowest-paid teacher in grade C1 takes home Sh27,195 while the highest pockets Sh33,994 per month.
Once promoted to C2, the lowest-paid teacher in this grade takes home Sh34,955 while the highest will pocket Sh43,694 per month.
Those who were in grade C2 and promoted to grade C3 will see their monthly income increase to Sh43,154 for the lowest and Sh53,943 for the highest.
The new development has dealt a blow to KNUT whose membership dropped drastically from over 136,000 to a meagre of 10,350 members.
The union had opposed the CPGs arguing that promotions were to be determined by merit, seniority and available vacancies.
In old schemes of service, teachers were promoted depending on selective proficiency courses while CPG provided a chance for common cadre promotions which happen every three months
The report further indicated that the mass exit cost the union up to Ksh1.6 billion payouts.
In comparison, KNUT received a Ksh144 million payout in June 2019, a figure that significantly reduced to just Ksh20 million in November 2020.
Teachers who are still members of KNUT are therefore not benefitting from the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)which was signed in 2017 with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
In November 2020, the union had petitioned President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene in the row between the union and (TSC).
KNUT national treasurer John Matiang’i had at the time noted that the commission had hatched a scheme to further escalate the union’s financial woes.
“Your excellency, the President, I appeal to you as the father of the teachers of this country, take up this matter by yourself.
“The obituary of this union should not be written when you are the head of state,” he stated.
