Teachers keep off classrooms as Kuppet officials storm schools in Machakos

Most teachers in Machakos County on Wednesday kept off classrooms despite a court order, which temporarily suspended Kuppet’s national strike.

A spot check by the Star in some schools across the county established that teachers were not in despite learners reporting to school.

The Employment and Labour Relations Court on Tuesday temporarily stopped the strike pending a determination filed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).

Some of the teachers said they were scared of the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), Machakos branch officials who allegedly threatened to take action against any member who would show up for work.

The branch members, led by their secretary general Musembi Katuku and chairman Bernard Warui, stormed Baptist Primary and Machakos Girls High schools on Wednesday, where they claimed teachers were at work while they were out in the streets fighting for their rights.

Katuku on Wednesday confirmed to the Star that 90 per cent of the schools across the entire Machakos County had no teachers.

He maintained that their strike was ongoing undeterred and warned teachers who go against their directives of dire consequences.

Katuku said they hadn’t received any court order as a branch but only read of the same in newspapers.

“We are on course with our strike until we get directives from our national office. We are already engaging our lawyers on the orders. We haven’t seen the order ourselves, we just saw them in newspapers,” Katuku told the Star.

“No teachers are in class, we are monitoring, 90 per cent of schools in Machakos have no teachers. We want to tell the parents that the strike is on and no child should be allowed to go to school. For the principals, there are no board meetings whatsoever.”

At Baptist Primary, the Kuppet members attempted to release learners from classrooms before police officers intervened, the police ordered the officials to vacate the school and the learners to return to their classrooms.

At Machakos Girls High School, the teachers were denied access to the institution.

Some parents who were taking their girls to school were caught up in the melee. Those who were driving to the institution had to wait as the Kuppet officials faced off with security guards and a handful of police officers before the situation was restored.

A few officials were allowed into the institution and met the school principal Judy David, who met them outside her office.

They accused her of denying her teachers their rights to participate in the strike, claims which David denied.

“I’m in this school alone as the principal to receive the girls reporting today. Where are the teachers, the girls can’t be left alone. I’m responsible as an administrator. Go round the school and see whether there are teachers,” David said.

Warui interjected by telling her that they (school heads) were the major beneficiaries of the strike.

“When we fight for the CBA, we fight for all teachers in this country. The greatest beneficiaries are principals and administrators. You are also a Kuppet member,” Warui told David.

The principal acknowledged being a Kuppet member, She, however, told the striking teachers and officials that they wouldn’t achieve much by shouting and storming schools.

However, Katuku said, “Until the government listens to our demands, there will be no schools in Kenya. So, Treasury CS should give us Sh10.8 billion to employ JSS teachers. We need payments for the second phase of CBA, the government must give us superior medical cover and we object to third-party deductions on our salaries."

He said teachers need to be promoted,, arguing that some schools in the country had no principals and deputies since some promotions have stagnated for more than 15 years.