Last financial year (2008/2009) the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training spent 25.5 billion Shillings on allowances (source: IFMS). This is a huge amount, which does not benefit teachers who are on the payroll of Local Government. It exclusively accrues to staff of the Ministry.
To put 25,5 billion in perspective, at an average teacher salary of 300,000 (my best guess) it is equivalent to the basic wage needed to employ seven thousand teachers for one year!
What is more, the Ministry doubled its spending on allowances between 2007/8 and 2008/9. In 2007/8 it spent 11.6 billion Shillings on allowances; one year later this had increased by 120%, to 25.5 billion.
Over the same period student teacher ratios in primary schools declined from 54.5 students per teacher to 55.5 (source: Basic Education Statistics). This increase occurred mostly because the number of primary school teachers declined (from 151,231 to 149,433) but also because the number of students in primary school increased by 61,000 to 8.3 million.
Had the Ministry of Education spent the same amount on allowances in 2008/9 as in 2007/8 and had the Ministry used the increase in allowances to hire teachers, it would have prevented the deterioration in the student teacher ratio. In fact, the ratio would have improved to 54.1 students per teacher.
Less teachers, more allowances. Food for thought I would think.
Gloria
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This is good stuff. Mind you, I think you'll find that a teacher's salary doesn't reach one laki, which probably makes your already shocking analysis even more shocking...
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