Teachers hired by school boards will start receiving stipends from the Sh1.72 billion Covid-19 relief kitty from tomorrow, Education Chief Administrative Secretary Zack Kinuthia said Wednesday.
He added that only those who were working by March 15 when the government ordered the closure of learning institutions will be paid.
Mr Kinuthia said the money has already been set aside by the National Treasury as per the advice of the Ministry of Education and would be sent to banks this morning.
Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang told the Nation that the funds have been cleared for release after the ministry verified the lists of 43,000 beneficiaries submitted by headteachers.
He said every recipient of the money must sign and the headteacher countersigns.
The teachers have gone without pay since March when schools shut in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Mr Kinuthia said the delays in paying the teachers were occasioned by reports of plans by some headteachers to steal the funds.
The CAS, who was on a tour of Murang’a county, added that the scheme had inflated the number of beneficiaries to 126, 000.
He said among the tricks that some of headteachers employed were using names of serving and retired teachers as well as dead ones, friends outside teaching profession and board members listed as instructors.
“The screening was not as it included listing the help of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), county Education directors and impromptu visits to particular schools,” Mr Kinuthia said.
He added that the budget to pay the teachers is part of the Sh15.4 billion the government has set aside for public schools to enable them prepare for reopening.
