NAIROBI — July’s pay stub brought no relief to Kenya’s 350,000 public school teachers.
The latest installment of their 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement was swallowed almost immediately by new taxes, statutory deductions, and persistent living costs. By the time World Teachers’ Day arrived on October 5, union leaders standing before President William Ruto at Kasarani Stadium had made their position explicit: the four-year wage deal is broken.
Leaders from the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and the Kenya Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) are now pushing to collapse the bargaining window back down to two years. Their argument is pragmatic: in a volatile economy, locking public educators into four-year pay agreements leaves them permanently chasing the cost of living—straining classroom instruction just as the country expands its ambitious Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
Addressing the crowd at Kasarani, President Ruto acknowledged the friction directly. "You are telling me two years have passed and you want us to switch to the two-year plan," Ruto told union delegates. "Just as you give learners homework, so will I take this as homework, and I will come with answers."
While the government resists altering the current cycle mid-stream citing fiscal predictability, holding teachers to four-year cycles in a high-inflation environment is counterproductive. Shortening the CBA window is an economic necessity and a vital step toward safeguarding school stability.
┌───────────────────────────────────┐
│ 2-Year vs. 4-Year CBA Cycle │
└─────────────────┬─────────────────┘
│
┌──────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────┐
▼ ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 2-YEAR CYCLE │ │ 4-YEAR CYCLE │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ • Agile response to inflation shocks │ │ • Pay gains eroded by inflation in Year 3-4 │
│ • Prevents multi-year wage lag │ │ • Creates rigid long-term fiscal locks │
│ • Higher trust between unions & TSC │ │ • High risk of strike action mid-cycle │
│ • Aligns wage updates with CBC expansions │ │ • Leaves teachers trailing private sectors │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘ └─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The Inflation Lag: Why 4-Year Frameworks Fail Educators
The core flaw of a four-year CBA is its rigidity against economic shifts. When the 2025–2029 deal was drafted, baseline financial projections could not account for subsequent tax changes or price spikes.
By mid-agreement, the purchasing power of initial pay raises disappears. A teacher earning KSh 32,562 at Grade C1 sees those gains erased by cumulative inflation on fuel, food, and rent.
A four-year cycle creates an artificial lag where educators work on yesterday's cost-of-living figures," notes Dr. Emmanuel Manyasa, executive director at Usawa Agenda.
"The government effectively asks teachers to absorb macroeconomic volatility on their personal household budgets.
A two-year agreement restores agility. It lets negotiators adjust basic pay and housing allowances against near-term economic realities rather than outdated forecasts.
CBA Cycles and the Realities of CBC Implementation
The demand for a shorter bargaining window is also driven by the ongoing CBC rollout. Expanding Senior School infrastructure and shifting workloads across Junior Secondary cadres have transformed daily teaching conditions.
STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVES ON CBA TIMELINES
┌─────────────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────────┐
│ TEACHERS & UNIONS │ │ GOVERNMENT & SRC │ │ EDUCATION ECONOMISTS │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ "Four years is too long │ │ "Multi-year plans bring │ │ "Unadjusted wages burn │
│ to wait for updates │ │ fiscal certainty to the │ │ out teachers, lowering │
│ during high inflation." │ │ national budget." │ │ instruction quality." │
└─────────────────────────┘ └─────────────────────────┘ └─────────────────────────┘
Teachers must continually upskill, adapt to digital assessment rubrics, and handle larger classes. Yet their pay remains locked in static multi-year structures.
- Workload evolution: Rapid curricular shifts require flexible benefit models over static contracts.
- Talent retention: Public schools risk losing specialized STEM teachers to the private sector when public pay lags.
- Industrial peace: Biennial adjustments reduce the buildup of grievances that trigger strike notices.
Dispelling the Fiscal Instability Myth
Opponents within the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) argue that frequent negotiations introduce fiscal instability, insisting four-year horizons are essential for budget planning.
This ignores the financial cost of industrial friction. Long bargaining gaps compress frustrations until they erupt into strikes and court battles.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ THE COST OF INDUSTRIAL FRICTION │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ 4-Year Cycle ──► Stagnant Wages ──► Strike Threats ──► Disruptions │
│ │
│ 2-Year Cycle ──► Frequent Adjustments ──► Predictable Industrial Peace│
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
A two-year cycle establishes routine dialogue between the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and unions. Smaller, scheduled adjustments are far easier for the Treasury to absorb than large settlements forced by strikes.
A Pragmatic Path Forward for the TSC and Unions
Transitioning to a two-year CBA requires tying pay adjustments to clear economic benchmarks:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ FRAMEWORK FOR A 2-YEAR CBA │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 1. Automatic Inflation Pegging │
│ Base pay adjustments tied directly to KNBS inflation metrics. │
│ │
│ 2. Streamlined Review Timelines │
│ Negotiations capped at 60 days to prevent prolonged impasses. │
│ │
│ 3. Productivity and CBC Milestones │
│ Allowances linked to continuous professional development (TPAD). │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Kenya cannot build a world-class education system on a remuneration framework that leaves its workforce trailing the cost of living. Halving the CBA cycle to two years is a necessary move toward supporting teachers, ensuring school stability, and protecting learning quality across the country.