Early childhood education teachers asks for pensionable terms

Over 1500 ECDE teachers from Uasin Gishu County have protested the current terms of employment citing former governor promised them for better terms which they said was not effected.

The new regime led by Governor Jonathan Bii Chelilim had ordered them to avail themselves in Eldoret town for a head count.

To them, they thought it could be a beginning of the path to the permanent and pensionable but things turned otherwise.

Nancy Mbugua is one of them, she said they had been informed by the former regime that implementation of their salary increment and employment on permanent and pensionable terms was going to be put in place the matter which never materialised.

“We have been told that the implementation of the increment of the salary will be affected in earnest but it is a matter that has been thrown out of the bus,”said Mbugua.

They argued that the ECDE teachers play a very critical role in nurturing the foundation child’s dream and their demands should not be wished away.

They now say that they will down their tools if they will not receive their dues which are late by three months now and the increment of their salaries.

“We are calling on governor Chelilim to really take the matter seriously now that he is just new to the office of the governor,” added Mbugua.

“We want to be employed on a permanent and pensionable basis and we shall be able to discharge our duties with diligence in all and sundry,” she added.

They cited that the outgoing county government regime used their plight and offered to solve the matter but it was a political ladder.

The ECDE teachers cited that they face financial crisis and the banks shy away from them when they source for loans as others are being pursued by the lenders.

“We do have families to feed, children to be taken to school and in fact most of our children in various levels of the learning institutions have had to differ due to the fee challenges,” argued Madam Chemeli

Sylvia Gathitu, a teacher who is widow said they have been on contract for a very long time dating from 2014 without any employment confirmation.

“It is a very long overdue before we get confirmed as the ECDE teachers, we cannot settle on anything else apart from a permanent and pensionable terms,” cited Gathitu

They had sought for the current governor’s audience on the matter but he could not be found since he was out of office on official duties.