New TSC reforms to provide teachers with non-pensionable allowances
A new measure currently before Parliament could provide legal support for allowances that teachers have long requested. It would establish a list of particular advantages and define explicit conditions for those working in acting roles.
The Teachers Service Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aims to modify the TSC Act of 2012 to establish a clear and predictable framework for allowance payments and to formalize the procedure for appointing teachers to acting positions.
The measure, which is sponsored by Mandera South MP Abdul Haro, seeks to standardize the distribution of benefits in the teaching profession and is now before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Education. It establishes crucial improvements, such a new Section 32A that specifies the requirements and procedures for assigning teachers to serve in higher roles.
The measure now includes a new “Schedule Four” that outlines nine allowances that may be permitted under certain circumstances. These include: transfer allowance, leave allowance, reader’s facilitation allowance, special school allowance, responsibility allowance, hardship allowance, commuter allowance, and housing allowance.
According to the Bill, the majority of these allowances will be non-pensionable; however, if a teacher earns the responsibility allowance up to and including their final day of service, it will be pensionable.
Additionally, in order to guarantee fairness in compensation, the suggested legislation aims to change Section 11 of the existing Act by adding a new paragraph that requires the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to speak with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) about the allowances to be paid to teachers.
In the memorandum of objects and reasons, Haro states, “The principal object of this Bill is to amend the Teachers Service Commission Act in order to provide various allowances that the Commission may pay to teachers over and above their basic pay.”
Samuel Njoroge, the Clerk of the National Assembly, has urged members of the public to share their opinions on the measure before May 9.
“In accordance with Article 118(1)(b) of the Constitution and Standing Order 127(3), the Clerk of the National Assembly hereby invites the public and stakeholders to submit memoranda on the Bill,” Njoroge stated in a public announcement.
The suggested changes come at a time when teachers’ unions are increasingly pushing for significant wage increases and improved benefits as part of the upcoming collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for 2025–2029.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) is calling for a 60 percent rise in fundamental pay and improved allowances. In addition to the establishment of a risk allowance for science instructors, the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) seeks an increase of between 50 and 100 percent.
Knut is also advocating for three incremental credits for teachers assigned to arid, semi-arid, or difficult-to-staff locations, as well as overtime pay or fixed remuneration for teachers who work during public holidays. Additionally, the union requests that the TSC provide acting allowances to teachers in roles like deputy headteacher, deputy principal, and heads of departments who have not yet been confirmed.
Members of both unions criticized them for consenting to the 2021–2025 CBA, which did not include a financial component. Since then, they have supported the decision by stating that rejecting the agreement would have resulted in a legal crisis because of statutory deadlines.
If approved, the Teachers Service Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2024, will likely improve transparency, equity, and motivation in the teaching profession.