All Teachers in this County to Receive Hardship Allowances, Senate Probe
All Teachers in this County to Receive Hardship Allowances, Senate Probe. Senators have launched an investigation into allegations of unequal distribution of hardship allowances among teachers in Taita Taveta District.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), Taita Taveta branch, has presented a petition to the Senate claiming that all teachers in the county are entitled to emergency allowances under Legal Notice No. 534 of 1997.
Additionally, the union cited the collective agreement dated July 13, 2021, which includes the Teachers Service Commission, KNUT, Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers and Kenya Union of Special Educators, which also stipulates that all teachers in the county should receive emergency allowances.
Despite the existence of these regulations, KNUT, Taita Taveta branch, claimed that not all teachers in Taita Taveta district receive hardship allowances. Specifically, they noted that hardship allowances are given to teachers in Voi and parts of Mwatate sub-county, excluding some other areas.
These excluded regions include Taveta sub-county, Taita sub-county, Ronge zone in Mwatate sub-county, Mbololo secondary school and John Mark Mwanjumwa secondary school in Voi sub-county.
Unions have argued that teachers in these areas are demanding hardship allowances to ease problems such as insecurity stemming from predatory animals from Tsavo National Park, high water prices and impassable roads.
They also pointed to the lack of rental housing near schools, significant workloads due to insufficient staff, high medical costs due to the absence of medical facilities, and communication difficulties caused by poor network coverage in these regions.
The petition stressed that there was no reason for the selective allocation of hardship allowances to some areas in Taita Taveta District to the exclusion of others as these areas have comparable characteristics in terms of climate, topography, security conditions and social facilities.
The union further emphasized that this discrimination in awarding hardship allowances discourages teachers from accepting positions in areas that are not eligible for such allowances, thereby exacerbating staffing problems in schools.
Consequently, the KNUT called on the Senate to recommend that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) grant hardship allowances to all teachers working in Taita Taveta District without any further discrimination.
All Teachers in this County to Receive Hardship Allowances, Senate Probe.