The government has made a proposal to scrap payment of hardship allowance in areas it says have developed over time and should no longer be classified as ‘hardship.

A report to review hardship allowance which will be tabled in Parliament for adoption next week has caused jitters amongst teachers in hardship areas.

Representatives drawn from Ministry of Public Service and Gender, Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, Ministry of Education, The National Treasury and Planning, Public Service Commission, Teachers Service Commission, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Council of Governors, Commission on Revenue Allocation, Salaries and Remuneration Commission and The Judiciary are said to have approved scrapping of hardship allowances in some areas of the country.

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The report has categorized regions as extreme hardship, average hardship and minimal hardship hence giving room for payment stoppage.

This follows a petition read by National Assembly Speaker Hon. Moses Wetangula yesterday on behalf of a member of the public on gazettement of Rachuonyo North constituency as a hardship area.

The Petitioner asserts that Rachuonyo North Sub-County has dire poverty levels. The schools in the area severely understaffed with low pupil attendance.

Additionally,teachers in Karachuonyo North are not receiving hardship allowances despite teachers serving in neighboring areas having the benefits.

In order to boost teacher morale and education in hardship areas, the petition urges the NationalAssembly to consider the criteria for determining hardship areas.

In supporting the petition, Legislators observed the need for a clear guideline regarding the identification of hardship areas.

In the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) TSC listed the following as the official ASAL and Hard to staff areas:

1) Baringo North:Tiaty East,Tiaty West and Marigat sub-counties in Baringo County.

2) Garissa County

3) Suba and Mbita sub-counties in Homa Bay County

4) Isiolo County

5) Mashuuru,Loitoktok and Kajiado West sub-counties in Kajiado County

6) Kwale County

7)Magarini and Ganze in Kilifi County

8) Lamu County

9)Mandera County

10) Marsabit County

11)Mumoni,Mutito North and Tseikuru sub-counties in Kitui County

12) Narok South and Narok North sub-counties in Narok County

13) Samburu County

14) Taita Taveta County

15)Tana River County

16) Turkana County

17)Wajir County

18)West Pokot County

However not all areas falling in the above categories enjoy hardship allowance as some its only applicable in some sub-counties and not whole county.

Areas recommended for hardship allowance payment include Nyando, Chonyi, Lungalunga Suba and parts of Nandi areas.

While others including parts of Samburu and Kinango, Lamu, Tana River and Taita Taveta have been recommended for scrapping.

in 2020 the World Bank asked Kenya to scrap hardship allowance to save Sh3 billion as part of cost-cutting measures to return the country on track after increased spending during the coronavirus pandemic.

The World Bank argued that public officers enjoying the hefty allowances work in areas categorized as hardship decades ago, but have since developed and no longer qualify for the tag.

“The review of hardship zones is needed as several regions have developed their infrastructure and social amenities over the last two decades and are no longer classified hardship areas,” the World Bank report on Kenya Public Expenditure Review reads.

This move will have negative impact on teachers’ payslips. Majority of teachers have already committed their payslips and this will reduce their borrowing power.

Teachers’ service commission, (TSC) is mandated to employ teachers and deploy them in any part of Kenya. It can also fire teachers, who breech the set code of conduct and regulations for teachers.

When it comes to posting, the teachers’ service commission can post a teacher in any school within Kenya. Even the TSC adverts have a clause that tests teachers’ loyalty to serve in any school where they will be posted.

Some areas in Kenya are designated hardship areas due to the conditions around them. Teachers teaching in hardship areas are entitled to a hardship allowance. The amount of hardship allowance depends on the job group of the teacher.

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It is very risky to work in most hardship areas, despite the higher perks. Life in such areas is hard due to a number of factors ranging from poor climatic conditions like drought/ floods to insecurities caused by intertribal wrangles, bandit attacks and terrorist attacks. In some cases, accessibility becomes a very big issue due to poor infrastructure and unreliable means of transport.

Living and working in hardship areas comes with its own share of discomfort to the teacher, and that is the reason for them being renumerated.

The teachers’ service commission has captured the following counties as hardship areas for Kenyan teachers. In some counties gazetted as hardship areas, only selected sub counties and schools within them are treated as hardship zones and therefore only teachers working in those zones earn hardship allowance.

Teachers in older hardship areas like the selected areas in Kisumu, which have been scrapped in the current CBA, will earn hardship allowance until financial review and evaluation of the new hardship areas is conducted by a task force. This exercise might end in December.