As confusion continues to linger over whether schools will reopen for the third term tomorrow August 26, 2024, or not, a section of clerics are now calling on the government to take immediate action to avert the industrial action.
The clerics expressed concerns over the slow pace of progress between the government, Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) and their Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) counterparts to resolve the issues raised.
Led by Bishop David Munyiri Thagana, who is the General Secretary of the Federation of Evangelical and Indigenous Christian Churches of Kenya (FEICCK), the bishops, reverends and pastors regretted that continued back and forth will not only paralyze third-term learning but will also negatively affect the overall performance of candidates waiting to sit their national examinations at the end of the year.
A showdown is expected between the government and teachers’ unions over unmet promises in what could be the beginning of a gridlock that could interfere with learning.
Although President William Ruto had instructed the National Treasury and TSC to resolve the stalemate, negotiations between the unions and the government have hit a logjam.
Among other issues raised by both KUPPET and KNUT are the government’s failure to fully implement the 2021-2025 CBA which was signed in June 2021 and amended by an addendum in August 2023.
Other areas of concern that teachers insist must be addressed for them to resume teaching are the delayed promotion of 130,000 teachers who have stagnated in their current job grades within this financial year, the collapse of teachers’ medical cover and failed remittance of loans and NSSF deductions from teachers by TSC.
“We are urging the government to move quickly and resolve all the underlying issues. Let us not get to a point where the learning of our children will be interrupted. Right now, parents are very confused over whether to take their children back to school or otherwise and the government should give the right directions,” Thagana said.
On her part, Wangechi reiterated that the government should consider adhering to the agreements it had entered with the teachers saying that they struggle to prepare the country for the future through education.
“Parents are all set to have their children back to school and have even raised school fees. Our children were interrupted during the Covid-19 and we would not want a scenario whereby disagreements would see them remain at home after spending three weeks,” Wangechi said.
Two weeks ago, KNUT issued a fresh strike notice to TSC after conciliatory interventions failed to forestall the industrial action.
The union Secretary General Collins Oyuu said the teachers’ lobby group had communicated their complaints to the teacher’s employer and the Ministry of Labour but zero action had been taken.
“Teachers shall down their tools and withdraw their labour and schools will not open until this matter is resolved,” Oyuu told journalists, then.