New Nairobi Knut officials push for improved house, commuter allowances for city teachers

Nairobi teachers break into song and dance after electing new officials in elections held at City Primary on January 17, 2026. /SCREENGRAB

The newly elected leadership of the Kenya National Union of Teachers Nairobi branch has barely settled into office, yet its agenda is already sharply defined, with calls for improved house and commuter allowances for city teachers topping the priority list.

The officials were elected on Saturday during the Knut Nairobi branch general elections held at City Primary School, an exercise that drew a large turnout of teachers from across the capital, underscoring simmering concerns over working conditions and pay.

Kasina Nyamai emerged as branch chairman after garnering 1,647 votes, while Mugwe Macharia clinched the executive secretary position with 1,565 votes.

Hannington Ochieng secured the treasurer’s seat with 1,753 votes, as Jane Ochwedo was elected woman representative with 1,433 votes.

Addressing the gathering of educators, Nyamai said the new leadership would waste no time in pushing issues that directly affect teachers’ welfare, beginning with enhanced hardship allowances for those working under difficult conditions.

“Next week we are back to the office and we shall start with the hardship document because that is the promise we made,” Nyamai said, noting that teachers in Nairobi face unique challenges that require urgent policy attention.

Macharia echoed these sentiments, saying teachers in the capital operate under particularly strenuous conditions, worsened by the rollout of Competency-Based Education (CBE) and ballooning class sizes driven by the 100 per cent transition policy.

“You will find a class of 120 students. We want to ask the government to employ more teachers, especially in our slum areas. Nairobi teachers have suffered a lot,” Macharia said.

He added that current house allowances are no longer reflective of the reality on the ground, describing them as insufficient to cushion teachers against frequent rent hikes in the city.

“Our house rent is hiked now and then, yet the house allowance is a mere token. We ask the government to review the house allowance and commuter allowance for Nairobi teachers,” he said.

Teacher house and commuter allowances are currently governed by the 2025–29 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed between the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and teacher unions.

The new Nairobi branch administration said it intends to push for a review of the existing scales through modifications to relevant clauses, subject to approval by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

Knut’s first national vice chairman, Malel Langat, told teachers that the union would also pursue a comprehensive job evaluation for teachers and curriculum support officers to reflect expanded workloads and skills upgrades under CBE.

Langat noted that teachers are now undertaking additional assessment responsibilities and administrative duties that were not envisaged in the current CBA.

He pointed out that the last job evaluation in the teaching service was conducted in 2015–16, before the introduction of CBE.

“In the wake of Competency-Based Education, we beseech SRC to evaluate the new jobs in the teaching service following the rollout of CBE,” Langat said.

“Our members must receive commensurate pay that aligns with their skills, experience, qualifications and the demands of their roles.”

Pay disputes between teachers, the SRC and the TSC have long defined labour relations in the education sector, often spilling into industrial action as unions push for the implementation of negotiated agreements, sometimes under court-sanctioned processes.