400,000 teachers set for pay rise as State, unions seal Sh33b deal

The over 400,000 teachers under the Teachers Service Commission will this month smile to the bank after the government and their unions reached a new pay deal.

The deal reached on Friday is worth Sh33 billion and will serve four years between July 2025 and June 2029.

The deal was signed by the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) and Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (Kusnet).

The deal delivers an increment of between five per cent and 29.5 per cent on teachers' basic salaries, with the first increase expected to be factored into the July 2025 salaries.

It will see the lowest-earning teacher's basic salary shoot to Sh29,000 from the current Sh23,000.

Speaking after the negotiations, Kuppet said the deal will be spread out and paid over four years.

Kuppet Secretary General Akello Misori said the teachers should expect the new pay deal will be factored into the July salaries.

“We agreed that we will get Sh8.4 billion each financial year for the pay rise, and by the end of this month, we expect the first date of implementation,” Misori said.

Misori said the pay deal will favour teachers who handle the heaviest workload in the school system.

Finer details of the pay deal reveal that teachers will get a pay increment of between Sh2,359 andSh17,4633.

The lowest-paid teachers under job group B5— the entry-level for primary school teachers— presently take home Sh22,793 and will now earn Sh28,620. This translates to a salary raise of Sh5,827.

The highest-paid teacher under this category presently earns Sh28,491 and will now take home Sh37,100. This reflects an increase of Sh8,609.

They are followed by teachers in job-group C1, which is the entry level for secondary school teachers.

The lowest-earning teachers in this category will get a Sh6,845 increase on their salary. They will now earn ShSh35,336 from the current pay of Sh28,491.

The highest earning teacher in this category will now earn Sh47,261 from the current Sh35,614. This marks a Sh11,647 increase on their pay.

Job Group C2 teachers categorised as Senior Teacher II, Lecturer II, Special Needs Education Teacher II and Secondary Teacher II – will get a pay increment of between Sh4,799 and Sh10,454.

The lowest earning teacher in the category will now earn a salary of Sh41,420 from the current pay of Sh36,621.

The highest paid under the same category, currently earning Sh46, 776 will take home Sh57,230 from this month.

Job Group C3, who are Senior teachers in Special Needs Education and Secondary school teachers previously earning Sh44,412 to Sh56,514, will now earn between Sh49,781 and Sh66,233. 

Job Group C4 holders (senior masters and lecturers in teacher colleges) currently are paid from Sh52,308 to Sh67,220, which will now rise to Sh58,585 to Sh77,120, reflecting a growth of 12 per cent to 14.7 per cent.

This means they are getting an increase of Sh6,277 for the lowest earners in this job group and Sh9,900 for the high earners.

Teachers with the ranks of Deputy Principals and Senior Masters are categorised in job group C5.

They will now take home Sh69,745 to Sh96,130. Currently, they earn between Sh64,770 and Sh78,667.

This will be an increase of between Sh4,975 to Sh17,463.

The least beneficiary of the pay deal is teachers in Job Group D1, which includes Senior Master II and Principals III.

Currently, they earn between Sh78,625 and Sh95,101, but under the new salary structure, their pay will rise to between Sh80,984 and Sh99,272.

This means the lowest-paid D1 teacher gets only Sh2,359 more, while the highest-paid in this group will see a Sh4,171 increase.

Next is Job Group D2, covering Deputy Principals II and Senior Masters I. 

They currently earn Sh92,119 to Sh110,551, but their new pay will be Sh95,271 to Sh116,012. This gives them an increase of Sh3,152 on the lower end and Sh5,461 on the higher end. Teachers in Job Group D3—which includes Principals and Deputy Principals I—will now earn Sh109,224 to Sh133,347, up from Sh105,182 to Sh127,069. 

This means they get a raise of between Sh4,042 and Sh6,278.

Senior Principals, categorised under job group D4, the pay rises from Sh118,242 to Sh121,789 for the low earners in the job group.

The highest earners in this group will now take home Sh150,675 from the current  Sh143,581. 

This is an increase of Sh3,547 for the lowest earners in the group and Sh7,094 for the highest.

At the top of the ladder are the Chief Principals, in Job Group D5, the highest paid in the profession. 

Their pay rises from Sh131,380 to Sh135,321 for the lowest earners in this group.

The top earners in the Chief Principal category, on the other hand, will take home ShSh167,415 from the current Sh159,535, 

This gives them an increase of between Sh3,941 to Sh7,880.