Senator Ephraim Maina of Nyeri has added his voice to requests for improved pay for Nyeri Early Childhood Development Education instructors.

On Sunday, Maina stated that teachers should be paid more than the Sh10,000 and Sh12,000 monthly compensation they presently receive.

The Nyeri governor candidate claims that the teaching profession is not given the respect and importance it deserves in the county.

If elected governor, he promised that education would be his top priority and that the teaching profession will be at the heart of all administration and development efforts in the county.

Maina expressed his dissatisfaction with the fall in educational quality in Nyeri, particularly in the ECDE.

After a meeting with the county’s teaching fraternity at his Lusoi residence in Kieni, he spoke to the media.

The purpose of the gathering was to discuss education and other issues that impact the county.

“We have emphasized the importance of education, and I want to stress here that education would be given priority in the coming Nyeri government so that the county may return to where it was,” he stated.

The teachers, through their spokesman Charles Mwangi, a Knut branch executive council member for Nyeri Central, urged the county to consider implementing a service system for the teachers, if one exists, so that they can be fairly compensated.

“We’ve heard that some counties are paying them handsomely, so Nyeri shouldn’t be left out.” Just do justice to these instructors so that they can serve as the country’s foundation,” he urged.

ECDE teachers, according to Mwangi, should be encouraged and motivated with enough remuneration because they are the only way the country’s education system can be supported and enhanced.

The senator and the instructors also prayed for the family of the late former president of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki, who is from Nyeri, and requested citizens to keep praying for the family.

President Uhuru Kenyatta announced Kibaki’s death on Friday, and he will be laid to rest on Saturday at his Kanyange house in Othaya, Nyeri county.

“Mzee Kibaki will be remembered for his love of this country and his exceptional leadership, which propelled this country forward economically,” stated the senator.

Kenyans would remember him for his devotion in the fight against corruption and misappropriation of public funds, which saw the country make significant economic progress, with the economy growing by 7.5 percent, he added.

Maina urged Kenya’s leaders to follow in Kibaki’s footsteps by using their positions to improve the lives of all Kenyans.