Both State and teachers must moderate their demands

Though the circumstances under which Treasury failed to include in this year’s Budget money to pay teachers their increased allowances, as agreed with past governments, the good news is that President Uhuru Kenyatta moved quickly to avert the planned strike by directing the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury Henry Rotich, Labour Secretary Kazungu Kambi and Education Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi to resolve the contentious issue within three days.

Regrettably, the supremacy battles that have been going on for years between Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut with a membership of 200,000 and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) with 40,000 has sown confusion. The result has been strikes in some parts of the country while it is business as usual in the others. The two unions ought to be prevailed upon to put their house in order because their differences are undermining the welfare of the very people they claim to represent. Even worse, the victims are children put under their care and parents who bear the consequences of inferior education. In short, the country is the loser.  On its face, the money teachers are demanding is huge — Sh56 billion for Knut and Sh25.5 for Kuppet members. But that is no excuse because the government of the day signed an agreement with the teacher’s way back in 1997.