“We Don’t Have Resources For Teachers” Treasury CS John Mbadi Says As Teachers Strike Looms

Treasury Cabinet Secretary (CS) John Mbadi has admitted that the government does not have the funds to hire 20,000 Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers on permanent and pensionable contracts.

Mbadi made the remarks on Citizen TV on Thursday, responding to a question about the government’s progress in addressing teacher grievances.

“We don’t have resources to recruit JSS teachers on permanent and for the additional 20,000 that was reduced in the estimates. There is a shortfall of about Ksh.13 billion,” he said.

“There is no money availed for conversions unless we do budget adjustments which we really don’t have space for. This year has been challenging.

“We really had to look around and see how we can raise the money we made available for teachers for their salary adjustments.”

Mbadi’s remarks come after the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers (KUPPET) announced on Wednesday that their nationwide strike, scheduled for Monday, August 26, 2024, will proceed as planned.

The unions attributed the decision to the Teachers Service Commission’s (TSC) failure to address critical grievances raised during a July 16, 2024 meeting to resolve the planned industrial action and issues affecting teacher welfare.

The unresolved grievances included, among other things, the immediate recruitment of 20,000 new JSS teachers, the prompt remittance of all third-party deductions, and a commitment to begin discussions on the next round of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

On Thursday, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos revealed that his Ministry is facing a severe funding shortage to meet all of the demands in the education sector.

With only three days before the teachers’ strike deadline, Migos appeared to escalate the crisis by revealing that the government lacks funds to fully implement phase 2 of the 2021-2025 CBA.

The CS’s remarks contradicted those of TSC CEO Nancy Macharia.

Macharia announced on Wednesday that Ksh.13 billion had been released for the implementation of Phase 2 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

“I beseech all teachers to report to school on Monday for the start of the third term now that the funds have been released for the implementation of phase 2 of the CBA and addressed all the issues,” said Ms Macharia on Tuesday.