Kuppet teachers take to streets

Secondary school teachers in several parts of Kenya took to the streets on Monday and held demonstrations over issues in the Education sector.

In Meru, teachers who are members of the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) took to the streets of Meru town vowing to keep off the classrooms.

Kuppet Meru branch executive secretary Karuti Nchebere said they would not back down until their demands are honored as primary schools recorded a low turnout of pupils despite teachers resuming their duty on Monday.

In Laikipia County, Junior Secondary School teachers joined their colleagues in downing their tools with the over 1,000 tutors saying they were demanding confirmation as permanent and pensionable.

“We will not report to school until the government honours our demands and we are not ready to wait until January next year,” said Mr Martin Thumbi.

Teachers in various counties including Bungoma, Kakamega, Uasin Gishu, Homa Bay, Mombasa, Nanyuki, Kirinyaga, Kisii and Narok participated in the protests.

A spot check by the Nation at the main matatu terminus in Nanyuki town revealed that only a few learners were traveling back to school for the third term though majority are set to resume learning from Tuesday.

Laikipia Kuppet Chairman Jediel Kimathi said the strike was on and asked school principals not to hold the routine staff meeting since no teachers would report on duty until their demands were met.

The said demands include implementation of the second phase of 2021-2025 CBC and the confirmation of 46,000 JSS teachers in the country as permanent and pensionable employees by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).

In Kirinyaga, secondary school teachers also staged a protest march in Kerugoya town, accusing the government of failing to honour the second phase of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Led by local Kuppet Executive Secretary Mr Njogu Mbui, the teachers vowed to continue boycotting work until their grievances were addressed. He said the TSC should release the Sh13.3 billion to implement the second phase of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) which was negotiated and deposited in court.

In Nyeri County, there was little activity in the town with a spot check at various matatu termini showing that no students were traveling to various destinations as in previous school opening days, save for a few who were doing last-minute shopping.

Some secondary school teachers who talked to the media said they are waiting for direction from their union officials on whether they resume learning before schools reopen on Wednesday.

Some parents asked the government to clear the air about the teachers' strike as most of them were in a state of confusion.

“We are doing some shopping hoping that learning will resume as planned on Wednesday, but we are still confused because our teachers have told us they will not report to school," said Margaret Wangari who was buying a uniform for her daughter.

A rift emerged on Sunday evening when the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) withdrew its notice of a strike just hours after Kuppet had voted to endorse the job boycott.

Both lobbies had issued notices for industrial action set to begin on Monday in protest over pay, delayed promotions and working conditions among other grievances. 

However, after a closed-door meeting of more than five hours at Knut headquarters in Nairobi, Knut National Executive Council resolved to shred its notice.

Reported by David Muchui, Stephen Munyiri, Mwangi Ndirangu and George Munene.