- Some of the members scrambled for food after they found Matungulu Girls' High School's staffroom vacated.
- They suspected that some of their colleague teachers were at work while they were going on with their demonstrations.
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers, Machakos branch officials on Thursday eat teachers' food after storming a Machakos school. https://shorturl.at/KObjx
Image: SCREENGRAB
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers, Machakos branch officials on Thursday ate teachers' food after storming a Machakos school.
Some of the members scrambled for food after they found Matungulu Girls' High School's staffroom vacated.
They suspected that some of their colleague teachers were at work while they were going on with their demonstrations.
A video clip seen by the Star shows the teachers storming the school's staffroom with others picking plates, and eating.
The Kuppet members have stepped up their protests against the government calling on parents to pick up their children from school.
The teachers led by their officials Musembi Katuku (secretary general), Bernard Warui (chairman) and Yvonne Musyoka (vice chairperson) took their protests to Kathiani, Kangundo and Matungulu sub counties streets on Thursday.
The officials told parents to pick up their children from school within the county claiming they were unsafe.
They sensitized parents on why they were demonstrating and the need for them to go pick up their children from various public secondary schools across the region.
“We urge the parents who have taken their children to school, to know that they have no security. We are here to tell you that all secondary schools and college teachers aren’t going to school,” Katuku said during the protests in Kangundo town.
“So, for your children in school, take them home until we come to an agreement with the government. There are lots of grievances we have raised with the state which it hasn’t resolved,” Katuku added.
Katuku said they on Thursday started their protests at Kathiani market before they moved to Kakuyuni town and later went to Kangundo town.
“We tell you parents to cooperate with us teachers, Kuppet has called for a nationwide strike. The strike is indeed ongoing. Listen to Kuppet, not other people,” Katuku said.
The Friday incident came barely two days after the officials stormed two other public schools within Machakos Town subcounty.
They include Machakos Girls High school where they engaged the school principal.
They maintained that the TSC must confirm the 46, 000 junior secondary school teachers as its permanent and pensionable employees before they call off the strike.
“Your children learning in JSS have no teachers. There are 46, 000 JSS teachers who TSC should confirm so that your children can get quality education. We won’t resume work if the government fails to effect this demand,” Katuku said.
Katuku noted that the government hadn’t honoured its obligation of effecting the second phase of a Collective Bargaining Agreement with their members.
He claimed that their employer, TSC, hadn’t remitted the third-party deductions to relevant institutions after making deductions from teachers’ pay slips.
“We are taking the government to court. Until TSC remits the third-party deductions, we are still on with the strike. The strike will continue,” Katuku said.
Katuku said the government had refused to allocate funds for teachers’ promotions making some schools lack principals and their deputies.
He said teachers had done interviews, but due to lack of funds for their promotions, they were yet to be promoted.
“These are some of the reasons why we are demonstrating,” Katuku said