Teachers in Nairobi stay away from classrooms as industrial action takes off

Teachers in Nairobi schools kept off classrooms as the nationwide strike began. There was little or no activity in most schools.

At Kangemi and New Kihumbuini primary schools, a few teachers idled in the staffroom, even as classrooms remained deserted. Only the head teacher and the deputy head teacher were in their offices "just in case of an emergency".

Even parents and pupils who had come to seek admission for Standard One places were turned away until the strike is called off.

The same situation was witnessed at Langata Road and Uhuru Gardens primary schools, in the city's southern suburbs. When we visited the two schools in the afternoon, there was no sign of any activity in their compounds, with only fruit vendors outside the two schools available for interviews.

"We only saw two teachers here in the morning, before they walked out again. There has been no sign of a student, unless they came in home clothes, before leaving. It has been quiet all morning," said a fruit vendor outside Uhuru Gardens primary school.

The teachers' strike is expected to gain momentum when secondary schools re-open this week. Some of the secondary schools we visited had their gates locked.

Teachers and parents who spoke to The Standard supported the strike, with most of them claiming that the Government has given teachers a raw deal.

"We are not happy when we go on strike, but it is necessary. Unless we go on strike, nothing will happen. There has never been a time in this country when the Government offers teachers a pay rise voluntarily. It has to be pushed. We should get house allowance and other benefits that can enable us lead decent lives," said one of the teachers, who spoke to us on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

"We even fear to speak because this Government is capable of anything," added the teacher, who claimed that the house allowance of Sh3,000 given to some teachers is too low.

At Moi Avenue primary school, teachers were holed up in a meeting the whole morning, with all classes locked.

"You have seen what is going on. There are no pupils and we are not teaching," said a female teacher at the school.

She however, refused to say if the meeting concerned the ongoing strike. But even as the strike took off, there were claims that some schools in Nairobi had enticed their teachers with extra allowances to lure them into classrooms. In one of the schools we visited, teachers complained that their colleagues at a neighbouring schools reported to work.