• TSC has taken steps to ensure teachers have access to quality and affordable healthcare.
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The Teachers Service Commission would like to respond to Amos Orina’s letter which appeared in The Star on 28th October, 2019 titled TSC flouting laws at the disadvantage of hardworking tutors.
Firstly, the writer asserts that TSC scrapped monthly medical allowances for teachers. But on the contrary, the Commission introduced a comprehensive medical cover in 2015 in a bid to enable teachers to provide quality service. Put differently, the medical cover which teachers have benefitted from for the last couple of years is far more superior to the previous medical allowances.
Indeed, the Commission has advertised a tender for the teachers’ medical cover for the period 2019-2022 which is in the last stage of completion. That is to say that, TSC has taken steps to ensure teachers have access to quality and affordable healthcare. This is also in line with the government’s Big Four agenda of provision of universal health care. This will propel them to remain productive in their teaching career.
In the same letter, the writer asserts that TSC threatens quality of teaching through the implementation of the 2017-2021 CBA which allegedly saw P1 administrators earn twice or thrice better pay than degree holders. This is a fallacy. As a matter of fact, TSC in consultation with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission conducted a Job Evaluation for teaching service in 2015/2016. This was to establish the relative worthy of the teaching job in the Education sector in order to link remuneration and benefits assigned to teachers. Thus, the Job Evaluation was the basis of CBA 2017- 2021. It is in light of the above developments that Administrative positions became substantive appointments and the administrative responsibilities were recognized hence given commensurate remuneration.
As pertains to payment of pensions for teachers in the 1997 Nakuru Court Case, the Commission wishes to state that it has not flouted any laws at the expense of tutors. Indeed, work is on course to process these teachers’ pensions as there are only a few cases being processed. However, it is imperative to note that teachers pension is paid by the National Treasury and the role of TSC is in just processing of the claims. This, therefore, means that the onus of TSC is to document the retiree’s employment history which includes: age, date of employment, promotions, remunerations and any other period(s) the teacher went without pay.
Tabitha Gathurai- Lynn is a Corporate Communications Officer at Teachers Service Commission.