The government has allocated Sh1.5 billion to pay teachers who marked the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.
National Treasury Cabinet Secretary (CS) John Mbadi said the money will be released from this week.
The CS told the teachers that the payment was brought forward from the 2026/2027 financial year after consultation with their union officials.
“We were planning to make the payment in the next financial year, but we are pleased to tell the teachers we have now brought forward the payments,” he said.
The teachers have been complaining over the delayed payment after the marking of the exams.
The CS made the remarks during a fund drive for construction of Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Homa Bay branch offices.
Mbadi said he will engage his counterpart from the Ministry of Education, Julius Ogamba, on the same issue.
“We need to settle the pay once and for all. It has been a thorny issue between the government and the teachers,” he added.
Teachers also complained about challenges in accessing health services.
Homa Bay KUPPET Executive Secretary Tom Odhiambo and Chairperson Peter Otieno said union members have a lot of pending matters, which they want the government to look into.
Odhiambo asked the government to list more health facilities under the Social Health Authority (SHA) in the region to offer health services to their members.
“Some of the hospitals that teachers prefer are not contracted by SHA to offer the comprehensive services that they require,” the unionist said.
Otieno said intern teachers should be confirmed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and be employed under permanent and pensionable terms.
The government deployed 44,000 intern teachers to Junior Secondary Schools and are waiting for their confirmation to permanent and pensionable terms.
“Intern teachers get Sh17,000, and they are not entitled to any medical allowance. It is not enough,” Otieno said.
In response, Mbadi said the government is unable to employ all the interns. He said the country is facing tough economic times and that the government cannot solve all the problems that its people are facing.
“We are in a difficult situation and we need to understand each other,” the CS said.
He said that the country was facing problems, some of which were geopolitical, like the war in the Middle East. “We need to find solutions and ways of coming out of the problems,” he said.
The National Treasury plans to collect Sh3.6 trillion for the next budget, with Mbadi saying Sh1.5 trillion will be used to repay debts.
By Davis Langat
