SNE Teachers Threaten Boycott Over TSC Grading Dispute and Salary Arrears.
Special Needs Education (SNE) teachers in Laikipia County have threatened to boycott duties over alleged discrimination by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) in the implementation of the Career Progression Guidelines (CPG) for Teachers 2018.
The threat was issued as public schools across Kenya reopened this week for the third term of the academic calendar, raising the possibility of disruption to learning in special needs institutions within the county should the dispute remain unresolved.
The teachers, addressing the matter in Nanyuki, stated that the TSC had failed to implement recommendations issued by the National Assembly on grading discrepancies, the payment of salary arrears accumulated over an eight-year period, and full adherence to the CPG as it applies to SNE personnel.
The teachers said the commission’s failure to act had resulted in financial hardship and had denied them benefits associated with their rightful job grades.
Background to the Dispute
The Career Progression Guidelines for Teachers were introduced by the TSC in 2017 and became operational on November 8, 2017, replacing the earlier Schemes of Service for the Teaching Service that had been in place since 2005.
The guidelines were developed to incorporate findings from a 2016 job evaluation exercise and to establish updated grading structures, remuneration frameworks, recruitment criteria, and promotion pathways for teachers serving in primary schools, secondary schools, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs), the Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA), and the Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE).
Under the CPG framework, Special Needs Education institutions were allocated distinct grading structures separate from those applicable to regular schools, comprising five grades for SNE primary teachers, eight grades for SNE secondary teachers, and eight grades for SNE TVET teachers.
Serving teachers as of November 8, 2017, were required to adopt and convert to the new designations and grading structure established under the guidelines.
According to the SNE teachers’ coordinator for Laikipia County, Mwenda Mwithimbu, SNE teachers were discriminated against in 2018 when the payroll scheme for teachers migrated to the new payment system aligned with the CPG. Mwithimbu stated that SNE teachers were supposed to be placed two grades higher than their counterparts in regular schools, on account of the specialised nature of their work.
“We are airing our grievances on Career Progression Guidelines, in which were discriminated against in 2018 when the scheme for payment of teachers migrated to the new system,” Mwithimbu said.
Mwithimbu further stated that Parliament had issued a six-month ultimatum directing the TSC to grade SNE teachers accordingly, remunerate them in line with the correct grading, and backdate salary arrears to 2018. He said that, despite the ultimatum, no action had been taken by the commission.
“TSC should grade us accordingly and remunerate us, while backdating salary arrears to 2018. Parliament issued a six-month ultimatum to that effect, but nothing has been done yet,” Mwithimbu said.
Mwithimbu accused the commission of failing to implement a petition that had been adopted by Parliament, describing the situation as discriminatory against SNE teachers as a professional category within the teaching service.
Parliamentary Petition and Committee Findings
The petition concerning alleged discrimination by the TSC in the career progression of SNE teachers was tabled in Parliament in 2023 by Dr Robert Junua Wekesa, an academician. The petition was subsequently referred to the Public Petitions Committee of the National Assembly for consideration.
Renyenjes Member of Parliament Muchangi Karemba said in February that the TSC had admitted before the Public Petitions Committee that job titles reflected in the payroll and those contained in the 2018 Career Progression Guidelines had been aligned for SNE teachers.
Karemba said the commission attributed delays in implementing the corresponding changes to the reconfiguration of government payroll systems undergoing migration to a new platform.
Karemba said the committee observed that, although the basic salaries of affected teachers had not been adversely affected, other benefits and allowances tied to specific job grades had been affected. He said this had caused confusion within the teaching service and had denied SNE teachers their rightful recognition in the public service.
Full List of Demands by SNE Teachers
Mwithimbu, speaking on behalf of the SNE teachers in Laikipia County, outlined the following demands directed at the TSC:
- Correction and conversion of all SNE teachers’ grades in accordance with the approved Career Progression Guidelines.
- Proper grading of SNE teachers reflecting the specialised nature of their work.
- Backdating of all salary arrears owed to SNE teachers to the year 2018.
- Payment in full of all outstanding salary arrears accumulated since 2018.
- Recognition of C2 as the appropriate entry grade for qualified SNE teachers.
Grievances Against the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers
The SNE teachers also raised grievances against the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET), citing alleged monthly deductions made from their salaries by the TSC on behalf of the union without their consent or membership.
Mwithimbu stated that KUSNET did not maintain a physical office and that its leadership had not been elected through a process known to the teachers it purported to represent.
“At the top, we have a union purporting to represent us, but there is no physical office and we do not know who elected them. We are being deducted money by TSC in favour of KUSNET, yet we are not members,” Mwithimbu said.
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Conclusion
The threatened boycott by SNE teachers in Laikipia County coincides with the reopening of schools for the third term and follows unresolved recommendations issued by the National Assembly’s Public Petitions Committee regarding the implementation of the 2018 Career Progression Guidelines for SNE teachers.
The TSC has acknowledged before the Public Petitions Committee that alignment of job titles in the payroll with the 2018 guidelines has taken place, attributing outstanding implementation gaps to ongoing reconfiguration of government payroll systems.
The petition tabled by Dr Robert Junua Wekesa in 2023 remains a reference point in the ongoing engagement between SNE teachers, Parliament, and the TSC on matters of grading, remuneration, and salary arrears.
SNE Teachers Threaten Boycott Over TSC Grading Dispute and Salary Arrears.
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