Teachers' unions in the country are now warning of the dire consequences that will befall the education sector if budget cuts, especially for the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) are upheld.

The unions say the future of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) implementation and the welfare of the teachers now hang in the balance as TSC contends with a Ksh.10 billion budget cut in its allocations for this Financial Year.

The budget cut has been brought about by the rejection and withdrawal of the contentious Finance Bill 2024.

The TSC budget cuts will leave the commission with gaps in implementing the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement, amounting to Ksh.10 billion.

Additionally, there will be a shortfall of Ksh.262 million for the training of teachers, particularly those involved in implementing CBC. The commission's general operations and maintenance costs will also be reduced by Ksh.18 million.

The teachers have now warned of industrial action if this slashed sum is not reinstated by the start of the third term of learning.

"We will call our NDC and issue a strike notice," Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Secretary-General Akello Misori told Citizen TV.

The impact of the budget cuts has been reflected in the teachers' most recent pay slips.

"Teachers have been paid for July but the CBA increment has not been remitted; we cannot allow that," said Misori.

According to the teachers, the government cannot be allowed to renege on its own commitments.  

"A CBA is a legal document between the government and its employees and therefore there should be no excuse of it not being implemented," Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Kisumu Executive Secretary, David Obuon, said.

Additionally, the teachers' unions decried the impact of the budget cuts on teacher staffing. The promise to permanently absorb 46,000 intern teachers and employ 20,000 new teachers is one of the areas affected by the cuts, along with the training needs of teachers.

The move is likely to impede the next phase of implementing the CBC curriculum."

"The same government has budgeted Ksh.54 billion for entertainment and travel by State officers; this kind of wastage is unacceptable to Kenyan teachers and all right-thinking Kenyans. The Ksh.18 billion cut will irreparably affect teaching in the Junior Secondary School (JSS)," said Misori.

"Retooling our teachers is not being done as it is supposed to be, the current JSS teachers were trained under the 8-4-4 system. They have been employed to teach under CBC; if they are not retooled due to budget cuts, who is going to be blamed?" Obuon posed.