Kisumu County Early Childhood Education (ECD) teachers on Friday got a pay raise and signed new job contracts.
The teachers, who had gone without pay for two months, were all smiles after Governor Anyang Nyong’o announced the new terms of their contracts.
The 668 teachers from the seven sub counties were awarded a three-year contract inclusive of health insurance cover.
“The teachers will be put in in the payroll from August 2019,” Governor Nyong’o said.
The ECD teachers, who were once paid in cash and had no payroll numbers, will now be receiving their monthly salaries their banks of choice.
The contracts will be renewed after every three years depending on the teachers’ performance.
The teachers’ salaries will also be increased as per their job groups and level of certification as from August.
The County Public Service Board has further and placed them in job groups that corresponds to their levels of certification.
The job group G members whose previous salary was Sh10,000 per month will now be receiving Sh20,800 per month, while job group H members who previously Sh12,000 will now receive Sh23, 780 per month.
The salary increment is meant to motivate the teachers to further their education.
The news has been received positively by the teachers, who are entrusted with the critical responsibility of preparing young children for primary education.
“My plans to pursue my degree course will now be successful, with the increment of salaries, I have nothing to worry about” said a teacher from Kisumu Central sub-county.
The governor has also praised the ECD teachers for their sacrifice and hard work.
“I still remember my teacher from the relationship she created with me, I was able to tell she was beautiful even though I was only five,” joked the governor.
It is, however, the hope of most teachers that the new salary will come alongside their salary arrears.
The county government distributed 20 million worth of textbooks and exercise books to all ECD centres across the county in the last financial year.
In addition, Sh14 million was released in support of feeding programme in our ECD centres at the handing over ceremony of ECD teachers’ contracts.
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