Ei-iE

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has won its campaign to secure permanent contracts for more than 18,000 teachers. The move will benefit teachers who are currently employed on temporary contracts and will provide them with more favourable terms and conditions that include a higher salary and pension rights from the end of October.

The Teachers’ Service Commission Secretary, Gabriel Lengoiboni, said that the vetting process would begin immediately to ensure that all new staff met the criteria for transfer onto permanent and pensionable contracts, with all current staff being included on the payroll as permanent staff starting on 1 October.

The agreement reached between the government and KNUT, an EI affiliate, earlier this month follows a week of strike action by teachers’ union members who marched through the streets of Nairobi against the practice of employing teachers on temporary contracts as a means to saving money.

EI’s Chief Regional Coordinator for Africa, Assibi Napoe, said: “This negotiated settlement between the teachers’ union and government is a very positive step forward to resuming classes and ensuring that highly skilled and qualified teachers are properly compensated for delivering quality education. Other governments across Africa should look to the example set in Kenya and get around the negotiating table with unions to ensure that teachers can play their key role in securing education for all.”