Nairobi: The Ministry of Education is actively seeking support from Members of Parliament to harmonize hardship areas across the country, aiming to ensure that deserving employees do not lose their allowances. Cabinet Secretary for Education Julius Migos emphasized the government’s commitment to streamlining the extra monthly pay for teachers, which he acknowledged as discriminatory in certain regions.
According to Kenya News Agency, the Cabinet Secretary expressed the need for affirmative action to address the discrepancies in hardship area classification. Speaking at Ngenia Comprehensive School in Laikipia County, during the presentation of a bus purchased through the National Government – Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF), Migos highlighted the government’s intent to eliminate situations where similar regions are classified differently in terms of hardship status.
Migos assured teachers that their benefits would be protected. He also addressed the school feeding program, stating that the Ministry would collaborate with legislators to ensure that all deserving learning institutions are included, particularly in areas facing insecurity issues.
Laikipia North MP Sarah Korere voiced her determination to prevent her constituency from being declassified as a hardship area and urged the Ministry of Education to tackle other challenges, such as the registration of learners in the National Education Management System (NEMIS).
Teachers have reported issues with the NEMIS online portal, where numerous learners from Grade Three to Nine remain unregistered, despite the exercise’s completion deadline passing last week. CS Migos promised that a new system would soon be implemented to resolve these registration challenges.
The Ministry is developing a new system called the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS), expected to be completed by July, to address ongoing issues in the education sector. Migos emphasized the collective effort required to support children’s educational aspirations.
Additionally, the Cabinet Secretary distributed a cheque worth Sh.28 million in bursaries for secondary schools.