Eighty Percent of BoM Teachers Earn Below Sh10,000 – Report
A recent report, Usawa Agenda 2023, has revealed that the majority of teachers employed by school Boards of Management (BoM) earn less than Sh10,000 per month.
Specifically, eight out of ten BoM teachers fall into this salary category. Additionally, two out of ten BoM teachers make between Sh10,000 and Sh20,000 per month.
Dr. Emmanuel Manyasa, Executive Director of Usawa Agenda, stated that many schools struggle to raise cash to pay these teachers, relying largely on parental contributions owing to insufficient government funding.
During the report’s release at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) offices in Nairobi, Dr. Manyasa encouraged the government to grant funds for BoM teachers, citing budgetary restrictions for parents.
He emphasized that in rural regions, a substantial amount of BoM teachers’ salary (Sh70 out of every Sh100) come from parents, with a lower government contribution (Sh7 out of every Sh100). Urban schools do marginally better, receiving Sh6.2 in government subsidies for every Sh100 given to BoM teachers.
The survey also investigated infrastructure differences between public and private schools. It was noticed that, while private schools generally have better facilities than public schools, metropolitan schools typically outperform their rural counterparts in infrastructural quality.
For example, 90% of private schools are fully gated, but only 70% of public schools have the same level of security.
Class sizes revealed as another source of discrepancy, with private schools regularly having smaller classrooms than public schools across all grades. This distinction could reflect better retention rates in private institutions. Across all educational levels, urban schools had more streams than rural schools.
The study also found a significant increase in the percentage of out-of-school children aged six to fifteen years, which rose from 7.5% in 2021 to 8.5% in 2023. The bulk of these children come from households where the head lacks formal education, and economic status has a considerable impact on school attendance.
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Furthermore, the report identified issues in the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), with 74.8% of parents pushing for lower implementation costs. Additionally, there were suggestions for changes in curriculum material and homework assignments, as well as improved teacher deployment, in order to effectively implement the CBC.
In conclusion, while the report highlights considerable discrepancies in educational resources and performance between public and private schools, it also advocates for specific reforms to close budget gaps for BoM teachers and promote overall educational equity in Kenya.
Eighty Percent of BoM Teachers Earn Below Sh10,000 – Report
