Uasin Gishu County Governor Jackson Mandago has urged the Teachers Service Commission to pay teachers their salary increment of 50-60% as per the Industrial Court ruling and should stop the delaying tactics.
Speaking in Eldoret town on Sunday, Mandago said that teachers have always been taken for a ride by the past governments since independence, with promises that they cannot fulfill.
“I was a teacher and I know what teachers go through, what can you do with Sh16,000 which is earned by a P1 teacher? The national government under the ministry of education should style up and pay teachers their dues since Kenya has a lot of money being misappropriated through corruption deals to benefit some few individuals,” he said.
“Teaching is a noble profession and should be respected by paying teachers well for quality services to be offered,” he said.
He reiterated that TSC has no mandate to say whether there is no money to pay teachers, and should instead leave the work to the ministry of finance and planning, who are in a better position to explain if there is money or not.
“If teachers’ demands are not met, I support them to go on strike fully since the past governments have only acted when teachers take their pleas to the roads and paralyze education,” he added.
He further noted that the government should hire more teachers to cater for the retired, deceased and also the increased number of students due to the introduction of free primary and secondary day school, making it hard for a single teacher to handle a student population of 80 students.