Proposed legislation will provide teachers with new allowances.

Proposed legislation will provide teachers with new allowances.

If the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Amendment Bill, 2024, is approved by Parliament, Kenyan teachers may soon be eligible for a number of additional allowances. To address the financial well-being of educators, the bill, which was sponsored by Mandera South MP Abdul Haro, proposes nine distinct allowances that are suited to the different jobs and issues in the field.

The suggested benefits include a housing allowance for all instructors, which will be maintained for those subject to interdiction until their cases are decided. Commuter allowances are also suggested, but instructors who are subject to interdiction or suspension would not be eligible.

Furthermore, a hardship allowance is set aside for instructors who teach in specified hardship districts, like some regions of Turkana, Garissa, and Baringo counties.

Special duty allowances would be given to teachers who take on administrative responsibilities outside of their grade or who work in dry or semi-arid regions. A responsibility allowance, which becomes pensionable if earned right before retirement, would be granted to heads of institutions, deputy heads, and senior teachers in job group ‘K’ and below.

In addition, instructors with expertise in special education who are assigned to specialized schools or units would be eligible for a special school allowance.

Additional proposed allowances, authorized by the National Council of Persons with Disabilities, include a reader’s facilitation or aid allowance for instructors with impairments.

Additionally, the bill includes a transfer allowance for instructors relocated by the TSC and an annual leave allotment. In order to guarantee fair compensation throughout the board, these actions attempt to acknowledge the varied responsibilities and difficulties that teachers experience.