- The onset of the teachers’ strike coincided with the reopening of schools for third term on Monday, August 16.
- Schools sent short messages to parents requiring them to pick their children at school on Monday as strike entered second week.
Image: MILLICENT OMANGA/X
The ongoing strike by teachers allied to Kuppet has entered the second week and paralysed learning, prompting some schools to send learners back home.
Schools sent short messages to parents asking them to pick up their children at school on Monday after Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori warned that the strike would be long.
Misori issued a notice to school principals and parents advising them to withdraw learners from school for their safety, saying teachers are dedicated to remaining on strike for as long as it takes.
"You cannot keep students in schools without teachers. Parents who continue to send their children to school during this period are doing so at their own risk. Kuppet will not be held responsible," he said.
The onset of the teachers’ strike coincided with the reopening of schools for the third term on Monday, August 16.
A day after the strike, Kuppet’s sister union, Knut, pulled out of the planned industrial action, saying the government had shown goodwill to address their grievances administratively, but Kuppet held steady, saying they wouldn’t resume work until their issues are resolved.
In his notice, Misori warned that the work boycott has just started.
"For the next one week, even beyond, teachers have vowed to stay at home. We are now appealing to the principals who have been persuaded by wrong notions to let the schools not be burnt," he said.
Some schools in Machakos county were closed due to student unrest.
On Monday, the Teachers Service Commission said it would issue a press statement later in the day ostensibly to address the standoff as more schools released students to head back home.
“The Teachers Service Commission will address a press conference at the TSC headquarters at Kilimanjaro Building, Upper Hill, Nairobi today, Monday, September 2, 2024, at 2.30 pm,” a notice on the commission’s X handle read.
The developing crisis caught the attention of Kenyans, who expressed varied opinions over the teachers’ strike, with former nominated senator Millicent Omanga calling for the voice of reason to prevail over hardline stances to save the country’s education.
“The impasse between teachers and TSC is hurting our education system. Reason needs to prevail to allow the resumption of the normal learning programme,” Omanga said on X.
Teachers are demanding, among other issues, the full implementation of phase II of their 2021-25 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the absorption of 46,000 JSS teachers on permanent and pensionable terms, and the promotion of 130,000 teachers.
They have also lamented about the non-remittance of statutory deductions and loans to the respective agencies, something TSC said has since been resolved, and teachers’ medical cover worth Sh15 billion has also been paid.
The TSC also said it had already promoted 51,232 teachers under competitive promotions and a further 20,000 annually on the common cadre.
“Effectively, the unions have noted the TSC position and agreed to consult their internal organs with a view to withdrawing the strike notice,” TSC CEO Nancy Macharia said after meeting with the teacher unions on August 21.
Come August 25, only Knut withdrew their strike.