How Teacher’s Rural and Remote Hardship Allowance is Calculated Elsewhere
How Teacher’s Rural and Remote Hardship Allowance is Calculated Elsewhere
A SNAPSHOT OF THE TYPES OF ALLOWANCES APPLICABLE IN THE MINISTRY OF GENERAL EDUCATION*
By: Mwalimu Patrick and Musape Wilfred
An allowance is any amount of money that is regularly given to an employee for a special purpose based on set criteria. In the Ministry of General Education, these allowances are bargained by the teacher representatives (unions).
The Ministry of General Education has the following allowances that members qualify for and these include:
Responsibility, rural, remote allowance etc.
Allowances
1. Rural and Remote Hardship Allowance
Rural hardship allowance is paid to employees serving in areas that are classified as rural schools.
These are in four categories based on the district’s remoteness and a particular school’s distance from the nearest district centre.
*_The following are the categories:_*
A – 30 to 70 km from the nearest district centre
B – 25 to 70 km from the nearest district centre
C – 20 to 70 km from the nearest district centre
D – 0 to 15 km from the nearest district centre.
The rural hardship* allowance is paid at 20% of the monthly basic salary while *Remote Allowance* is paid at 25% of one’s basic salary
A school is described as remote if the distance from the nearest district centre is over 70km for category A, B and C and over 15 km for category D.
*_Who qualifies?_*
All the teachers serving at schools in this category are eligible, however, the teacher qualifying to receive the remote allowance is not eligible to receive the rural hardship allowance or vice versa.
*_Note: Distance is counted based on the nearest service centre/town where the teacher gets his/her grocery and not DEBs Office_ .*
2. *_Accommodation_*
To make delivery of duty easy, accommodation should be provided, however, in situations where teachers are not accommodated, they are eligible for an allowance according to their salary scale.
*_Who qualifies?_*
Any teacher occupying a housing unit not classified as “institutional”.
3. _*Responsibility allowance*
_
Responsibility Allowance is paid at the rate of 20% of the basic pay to all eligible teachers and shall be done or paid for on an annual basis meaning it’s a 12-month cycle.
Eligible teachers should re-apply for this allowance each November to facilitate input on the payroll for January of the following year and allow eligibility facilitation to be undertaken.
*_Who qualifies?_*
The following will be eligible for the payment of responsibility allowance:
1. Degree holders teaching “A” level classes.
2. Advanced diploma holders teaching either senior or “A” level classes at a secondary school.
3. Diploma holders teaching Senior classes.
4. Certificate holders teaching Upper basic/secondary school classes.
Other Allowance includes Transport Allowance
