The Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET) has demanded immediate implementation of a government promise to promote teachers, 11 months after the pledge was made at State House.
KUSNET National Chairman Amos Karanja said President William Ruto directed in September 2025 that teachers be awarded an additional job group, but the directive remains unimplemented, denying teachers the expected salary increments.
“Eleven months down the line, the Presidential directive has not been implemented. The President promised us. We are asking TSC to move with speed. Before the end of this month, we want to get the results,” said Karanja.
The union said teachers were informed that they would be moved up by one job group following discussions held in September last year.
Karanja said teachers had not benefited from the proposed promotion, raising concern among members and prompting the union to urge the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to fast-track the process.
He said the union was now demanding implementation of both the first and second job grades promised to Special Needs Education (SNE) teachers, noting that the President had acknowledged the demanding nature of their work.
“The President himself pronounced that he knows the kind of work these teachers do. They go an extra mile and do more,” Karanja said, calling for the first grade to be implemented within three months as preparations for the second one continue.
He said teachers could no longer wait for the directive to be implemented and questioned why they should be forced to pursue government officials to honour a presidential pronouncement.
Accompanied by KUSNET First National Trustee Jackson Odindo, Karanja said the commission should implement the process before the end of next month.
Odindo, who is also the head teacher of Hope Special School for the Mentally Challenged, said pupils with special needs require additional support due to the challenges they face.
He called on Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi to release funds to facilitate the promotions and challenged TSC leadership to act with urgency.
The union had also raised the issue of a 2018 career progression agreement that had not been implemented when teachers met the President at State House.
Odindo said the President subsequently directed that the matter be addressed by granting SNE teachers one additional job group, but teachers had yet to see any changes.
“We are requesting the President to keep his word and honour what he promised the teachers,” said Odindo.
KUSNET General Secretary James Torome said more than 10,000 teachers attended a meeting at State House on September 13, where they presented several grievances to the President.
Torome said TSC had since prepared the necessary implementation matrix and forwarded it to the National Treasury, but the process had stalled.
He called on President Ruto to intervene and engage the Treasury over the matter, warning that frustration among SNE teachers was mounting.
Torome also said teachers had requested a review of the Sh20,000 guidance allowance paid to teachers living with disabilities, but claimed that no meeting had been convened by TSC to discuss the proposal.
He urged those tasked with implementing the concerns to address the matter urgently before the union mobilises SNE teachers to return to State House to seek clarification on the status of the promises.
KUSNET said it would continue pressing the government to implement the promised reforms, insisting that SNE teachers should be given better recognition and improved working conditions in view of the specialised support they provide to learners living with disabilities.
By Emily Kadzo
