TSC Ordered to Reinstate and Compensate Teacher Who Earned Just Ksh125 a Month

A Bureaucratic Error That Became a Personal Tragedy

The teacher, formerly a headteacher at Mbimbini Primary School, was stripped of his position after the TSC claimed he had been wrongly appointed.
Without proper consultation or disciplinary hearing, the Commission began making large deductions from his salary—a total of Ksh515,847.85 over three years.

Each month, his payslip shrank until his net pay fell to just Ksh1.25, an amount that barely registered in the banking system.
According to CAJ’s investigation, the deductions violated Sections 10(5) and 19(3) of the Employment Act, which require both prior consultation and retention of at least one-third of an employee’s gross pay.

The Ombudsman described the TSC’s actions as “procedurally unfair and contrary to employment law.”
The ruling directed that the teacher be reinstated, fully compensated, and his record cleared.

The Reality of Teacher Pay in Kenya

The case hit a nerve because it reflects a much wider struggle among Kenyan educators.
Even without illegal deductions, many teachers live under tight financial pressure due to rising statutory contributions and delayed promotions.

Recent data from the Teachers Service Commission and Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) show the following ranges:

• Primary school teachers (Grade B5): Ksh21,756 – Ksh27,195 basic pay, plus allowances.

• Headteachers (Grade C5): Up to Ksh77,840, with additional housing and hardship allowances that can push total earnings above Ksh100,000.

• Graduate secondary school teachers (Grade C3): Around Ksh81,584 gross, but often take home only Ksh23,000–Ksh25,000 after deductions.

For many educators, one-third to half of their salary goes to statutory and voluntary deductions — including PAYE (30%), pension (7.5%), social health (2.75%), housing levy, union dues, and loans.

This means the average take-home pay for a classroom teacher in 2025 remains between Ksh17,000 and Ksh25,000, depending on location and experience.

The Hidden Cost of Payroll Errors

A 2024 audit of the public service payroll revealed that nearly one percent of employees experienced pay delays or errors during the year.
The same report identified over 19,000 “ghost workers” inflating the government wage bill—a problem that has persisted across ministries and commissions.

Within the TSC alone, 30% of disputed payroll cases in 2024 were overpayment-related.
To recover such funds, the Commission often issues deductions retroactively—sometimes without verifying the original appointment documents or consulting the affected teachers.

That’s how genuine staff can end up being punished for administrative mistakes.

When Bureaucracy Overrules Fairness

Unions have long accused the TSC of handling disciplinary and payroll matters without sufficient oversight or empathy.
According to the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), more than 3,000 teachers have faced irregular transfers, demotions, or unexplained pay cuts in the past three years.

Teachers say the system’s opacity makes it hard to challenge errors.
Appeals take months, communication is slow, and some officers in county TSC offices lack the tools to correct issues promptly.

A KUPPET statement in mid-2024 warned:

“We have teachers going months without pay while others are penalized for errors they never made. The system punishes the innocent.”

The Broader Economic Strain

While government data highlights modest salary increments, the cost of living continues to outpace pay.
The 2025 Economic Survey noted that inflation in basic goods and housing had eroded nearly 18% of teacher purchasing power since 2021.
For rural teachers, transport and family expenses often consume what’s left after deductions.

Financial institutions have also reported an increase in loan defaults among teachers, particularly those in lower job groups.
Banks and microfinance institutions have tightened credit, fearing salary inconsistencies and delayed remittances from government departments.

A Legal Turning Point

By siding with the teacher, the Ombudsman established a precedent that salary deductions—even for genuine overpayments—must follow clear due process and respect the one-third rule.

The decision also reaffirmed that employment rights cannot be suspended due to administrative confusion.
The CAJ directed TSC to compensate the affected teacher fully, restore his previous rank, and ensure similar cases are reviewed internally.

Labor law experts say the case could open the door for other teachers to seek redress for unlawful deductions and demotions.
It also places pressure on TSC to modernize its payroll systems and maintain proper audit trails.

Why Payroll Modernization Matters

Many of the TSC’s challenges stem from fragmented HR systems.
Manual data entry and delayed reconciliations between county and national offices make errors easy to introduce and difficult to detect.

Digital HR tools—including biometric attendance, centralized records, and automated contract validation — could reduce disputes dramatically.
A digitized payroll linked to verified appointments would prevent most overpayment cases before they reach the deduction stage.

The Public Service Commission and the National Treasury have both pushed for this kind of modernization, but implementation remains slow.

The Human Side of the Story

Behind the statistics lies a stark human truth.
For the teacher who earned Ksh125 a month, the pay cuts meant years of humiliation, debt, and uncertainty.
He continued to show up for duty, even as his family struggled to survive.

When the CAJ finally ruled in his favor, it wasn’t just about restoring a salary—it was about restoring dignity.
Colleagues across the country celebrated the decision as a reminder that fairness can prevail, even in the face of bureaucracy.