11,000 teachers will receive pensions, After 27 years

11000 teachers will receive pensions, After 27 years

11000 teachers will receive pensions, After 27 years

Njuguna Ndung’u, the cabinet secretary for the treasury, informed lawmakers and  educators on Wednesday that the government is making great strides toward  paying the arrears owing to the roughly 11,000 retired teachers . Who have  waited 27 years for their pensions.

Ndung’u informed lawmakers that the government had set aside Ksh16 billion in  May.  To pay teachers’ pensions that had not been paid since 1997. This allocation, however, was insufficient to pay for all unpaid claims.

Prof. Ndung’u says that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has processed  22,317 of the 23,267 updated claims that it has submitted to the National Treasury  since 1997.

The availability of resources will determine when the Treasury will send the  outstanding balances.

Unpaid pensions are a sensitive subject that is currently the focus of ongoing  judicial proceedings. Further complicating the situation is the fact that a few retired  teachers have  passed away.

As a result of the government’s failure to pay their salaries, some teachers are living in dire poverty.

CS Ndung’u acknowledged the seriousness  of the  situation during the meeting . He  stated, “I’ve been in this position for ten  months, and  I agree with the urgency of  the  matter.”

Legislators expressed doubts about the Ksh16 billion allocation. Questioning whether it explicitly addresses the pensions of  previously excluded pensioners or if it covers  all pension payments.

After a protracted court battle, these retired teachers were successful in 2008 in  obtaining their pensions. However, payments didn’t start coming in until this year, so some instructors are still working without pay.

In response, the cabinet has committed to resolving all outstanding payments owed to teachers. Notably, due to the fact that they had already received pay raises as part of the 1997 wage adjustment, teachers who retired after July 2003 are not eligible for these benefits.

Five phases of payments were initially planned for the retirees, with the  last phase  ending in 2001. Only the first phase, which corresponded with  the year  the Kenya  National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the government signed a payment  agreement, was carried out, nevertheless.

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education’s Secretary-General, Akelo Misori, has encouraged members of Parliament to put  pressure on  the Treasury to guarantee the early disbursement of these funds.