Kitui County Public Service Board chairperson Florence Makindi on Monday apologised to ECDE teachers for taking too long to employ them on permanent and pensionable terms.
She said it had all along been her board’s desire to employ early childhood teachers on permanent and pensionable terms, but the issue of the ballooning wage bill delayed the initiative.
“When I joined the county of Kitui with my fellow commissioners, we said the ECDE teachers should be employed on P and P. But we were told due to issues of the wage bill, we could not afford to pay them,” she said.
Makindi was speaking to more than 2,000 ECDE teachers outside her office in Kitui town.
“Today Kitui becomes the first county in Kenya to give ECDE teachers permanent and pensionable terms,” she said.
“ECDE teachers lay the foundation of the future by imparting good values and morals on the children.”
Kitui has 2,401 ECDE teachers. Makindi said by the end of Monday, all eligible teachers will be accorded permanent and pensionable status as directed by Governor Julius Malombe.
“We have called you here to give you letters of appointment to be permanent staff of the county government,” she said.
The notice inviting the teachers to Monday's meeting indicated that those nearing retirement age would formally be given retirement notice letters, while untrained teachers would be given a non-renewable three-year contract.
The Star has established that at least 140 ECDE teachers have reached retirement age.
