Teachers are in deep disappointment after realizing that their loan deductions were not remitted to commercial banks and saccos. Yesterday, Kenya National Union of Teachers revealed that a number of teachers had been issued with warnings by banks over their loan arrears.
Knut pointed out that TSC had not remitted any money to banks and saccos for the past two months, yet the same was reflected on teachers’ payslips. One teacher got a message from KCB bank with the wording: “Dear customer, your KCB CHECK OFF loan is still in arrears of Kes. XX, loan reference number XXX. Kindly pay by depositing Kes. YY into account YYY.”.
Banks and saccos have now threatened to list the teachers on the Credit Reference Bureau in case the loan arrears are not cleared in thirty days. The situation is not new in the sense that on several instances, TSC has been accused of withholding the deductions on teachers’ payslips.
Early this year, some hospitals declined to treat teachers and their dependants citing an empty teachers’ NHIF account since TSC failed to remit NHIF deductions. This issue places teachers in a precarious situation financially.
Knut has equally expressed its frustration with the delays occasioned by the TSC, arguing the same is really hurting their members. According to Collins Oyuu, the secretary general of Knut, the current delay is the longest ever witnessed and raises concerns about the financial stability of the Commission. It threatened to take industrial action if the trend by TSC continues.