A new list of hardship areas has been made public by the Teachers Service Commission. The TSC 2021–2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement contains this statistics.
The list of Arid and Semi-Arid Land, sometimes known as hardship areas, has been revised to add new regions.
The official ASAL and Hard to staff areas include;
1) Baringo North; Tiaty East, Tiaty West and Marigat sub-counties in Baringo County.
2) Garissa County
3) Suba and Mbita sub-counties in Homa Bay County
4) Isiolo County
5) Mashuuru, Loitoktok and Kajiado West sub-counties in Kajiado County
6) Kwale County
7) Magarini and Ganze in Kilifi County
8) Lamu County
9) Mandera County
10) Marsabit County
11)Mumoni, Mutito North and Tseikuru sub-counties in Kitui County
12) Narok South and Narok North sub-counties in Narok County
13) Samburu County
14) Taita Taveta County
15) Tana River County
16) Turkana County
17) Wajir County
18) West Pokot County
HARDSHIP ALLOWANCE
The Teachers Service Commission, TSC, pays extra allowances (hardship allowances) to teachers working in areas classified as hardship. While classifying an area to be a hardship area, the locality must meet any of these conditions:
~Lack of or unavailability or inaccessibility to food,
~Inadequate transport and communication network,
~Limited basic social services and amenities,
~Persistent harsh climatic conditions like flooding, landslides and drought,
~Insecurity and high possibility of security threats.
Hardship allowance is therefore paid in an effort to compensate for the cost of living for teachers working in areas designated as hardship.
As stated above, teachers working in hardship areas face a myriad of challenges; from lack of water, flooding to hostile living conditions characterized by constant spates of attacks.
The table below summarizes the monthly hardship allowance rates that are paid to teachers working in hardship areas; per job group
