The excitement surrounding, Priscilla Wanjiku Karanja, popularly known as, Teacher Cillah’s reported move to Tenri Schools in Embu is quickly giving way to uncomfortable questions, with claims emerging that some employees at the institution have faced delays in receiving their salaries.
A social media post showing students of Tenri Schools Embu celebrating the reported arrival of Teacher Cillah has drawn attention to the institution, but the excitement has also opened a different conversation about the welfare of employees working at the school.
The students were filmed in their school uniforms expressing excitement over the reported move, with the video quickly attracting reactions online.
One of the comments responding to the post claimed that Tenri Schools does not always pay its staff on time.
Hello Nyakundi, Umeona ati Teacher Cillah Anaenda Tenri Schools Embu. From what I know, Teacher Cillah may soon realise that joining Tenri Schools is not the opportunity it appears to be. October’s salary will come in December, and that is the kind of situation staff under Tenri institutions have been dealing with. In my view, all institutions under Tenri are poor employers when it comes to how they treat their staff. Cillah will regret this move. Atapata taabu sana, and before long, I believe she will be crying online about her experience.
The claim places employee welfare alongside the public attention the institution is currently receiving and raises the question of whether staff enjoy the same level of stability expected from a school entrusted with educating children.
Tenri School describes itself as an institution that began in 1999 as a kindergarten before expanding into kindergarten, pre school, primary and junior secondary education. The school says it is located in Embu Municipality along the Embu Kiritiri Road and operates under the sponsorship of the Kenya Tenri Mission.
Another person shared a similar complaint and called out the pricipal James Kariuki who the complainant says micro-manages Tenri Schools.
There is James Kariuki a principal at Tenri Schools. This guy is very unproffesional and rude. Cillah will be told to lock her phone when she joins the school. All attentions that she thinks she controls right now will be soaked and all her digital fingerprints will be closely monitored and controlled. Ushai ambiwa futa hio video sahi sahi! That is how Kariuki will be managing everything she posts.
There is also wider context from Embu that makes the issue worth examining carefully. Previous reporting from the county has documented situations in which teachers and other school workers experienced salary delays because institutions struggled with finances.
In one report, hundreds of teachers hired by school managements and parents' bodies in various Embu schools were said to have gone without salaries and allowances for months. Another report documented ECDE teachers in the county going for four months without pay during a period when county governments were waiting for national government funds.
Another complaint shared online has also warned theacher Cillah that the Tenri schools has a well known problem of paying staff.
Huyo Odijo hataamini. Salo ya Oct atapata Dec.
The question now is straightforward: are Tenri Schools employees consistently paid on time?
If there have been delays, what caused them, how long did they last and have all outstanding salaries been cleared?
For a school that expects teachers to show up every day, teach students and keep the institution running, delayed salaries are not a small administrative issue. They affect the very people carrying the school’s operations. The question is whether Tenri management considers timely payment a basic obligation or something staff should simply learn to live without.
Teacher Cillah may be joining Tenri to a lot of excitement, but the claims from people familiar with the institution paint a far less attractive picture. If the school cannot guarantee its employees timely pay, what exactly is it offering teachers beyond the publicity?