The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is set to begin paying special duty allowances, commonly referred to as acting allowances, to approximately 99,000 teachers who are currently serving in administrative positions in an acting capacity across the country.
According to TSC, the payments are expected to commence after the July budget cycle, following the approval of a landmark amendment Bill by Parliament aimed at addressing long-standing concerns over unpaid acting roles in schools.
The new law, known as the TSC (Amendment) Bill, 2024, introduces sweeping changes to how teachers appointed to temporary leadership positions are treated and compensated. Sponsored by Abdul Haro, the legislation provides a structured legal framework for compensating teachers assigned to roles such as principals, deputy headteachers, and heads of departments on an acting basis.
Under the amended law, teachers appointed to act in administrative positions will now be entitled to a special duty allowance, provided they meet the eligibility criteria for substantive appointment to those roles.
The Bill clearly stipulates that a teacher may only act in a position for which he or she qualifies. For example, a teacher can only be appointed to act as a headteacher if they satisfy all the requirements necessary for formal appointment to that position.
Additionally, the legislation caps the acting period at a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of six months. Once the six-month period lapses, the Commission will be required to substantively fill the vacancy.
In such cases, the acting teacher will qualify for confirmation, provided they meet the necessary standards and recruitment criteria. The law also emphasizes that a teacher may only act in one position at any given time, effectively preventing multiple overlapping acting appointments.
Crucially, the new provisions mandate that teachers serving in acting roles receive all allowances attached to those offices. These include house allowance, commuter allowance, hardship allowance for those serving in gazetted hardship areas, responsibility allowance, leave allowance, transfer allowance, and the newly formalized special duty allowance.
However, the exact amount payable under these allowances will be determined by TSC in consultation with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), in line with existing legal provisions.
Section 11 of the TSC Act, 2012 (No. 20 of 2012) already requires the Commission, in consultation with SRC, to facilitate payment of allowances to teachers as outlined in the Fourth Schedule. The amendment reinforces this obligation and removes ambiguities that previously allowed acting appointments to go uncompensated.
The legislation is expected to benefit around 99,000 teachers currently serving in various acting capacities, including more than 3,300 school heads and deputy heads who have reportedly been discharging leadership responsibilities without commensurate pay.
Lawmakers argued that the practice of assigning teachers administrative duties without formal recognition or financial compensation amounted to exploitation. They further observed that prolonged acting appointments had eroded morale among teachers and disrupted effective succession planning within school leadership structures.
The new development also places pressure on TSC to expedite promotions and confirmations whenever administrative vacancies arise. By limiting the acting period to six months, the law effectively compels the Commission to regularize appointments in a timely manner rather than relying on indefinite temporary assignments.
Teacher unions have long pushed for such reforms. The Secretary-General of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), Collins Oyuu, welcomed the passage of the Bill, describing it as a major victory for teachers.
He noted that it is standard labour practice for acting appointments not to exceed six months and criticized the previous system in which teachers could not demand acting allowances due to the absence of formal appointment letters.
According to Oyuu, although TSC oversees promotions, sub-county directors often assign teachers to act in administrative roles. In many cases, deployment letters issued to teachers referred merely to an “assignment of duties” rather than an acting appointment. Such letters typically indicated that the assignment was temporary and made no reference to additional pay, effectively denying teachers the right to claim acting allowances.
One example cited involved a C4 deputy headteacher who was assigned the duties of a headteacher through a letter that explicitly described the role as temporary, without any mention of financial compensation. Union officials argued that this administrative language enabled the Commission to circumvent its obligation to pay special duty allowances.
The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) also raised concerns over the issue earlier in April 2024 during a meeting with TSC. The union maintained that acting administrators were entitled to both acting and special duty allowances under the Code of Regulations for Teachers.
However, TSC reportedly resisted the proposal, arguing that compensating acting positions would be unlawful due to circulars issued by SRC that had abolished certain acting designations.
KUPPET countered that the Commission was violating the law by continuing to deploy teachers as acting administrators while denying them due compensation. The union maintained that the practice not only undermined teachers’ rights but also contravened established labour standards.
The new amendment seeks to settle these disputes by providing clear statutory backing for acting allowances and formalizing consultation between TSC and SRC on remuneration structures. By explicitly recognizing acting appointments and attaching mandatory allowances to them, Parliament has effectively closed the loopholes that previously allowed temporary administrators to serve without pay.
As the July budget approaches, thousands of teachers who have shouldered leadership responsibilities without additional compensation are now anticipating long-overdue financial recognition. The implementation of the new law marks a significant shift in the governance of the teaching service, reinforcing accountability, fairness, and professional dignity within Kenya’s education sector.