Kenya’s development will lag behind if we compromise our academic calendar with teachers’ strikes

Fwamba NC Fwamba

Unlike in many parts of the world, in Kenya one would easily think the main role of a teachers’ union like Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) is to lead nationwide teachers’ strikes. This impression has significantly been created by the current Knut leadership since the demise of their former Secretary General David Okuta Osiany.

While trying to outdo each other, the current leadership in the characteristic rivalry both the Chairman and Secretary General have used a threat to strike as the main populist standpoint and the only approach to making demands to the government or endearing themselves to Kenyan teachers.

In the recent past, it appears the most significant manifesto for any candidate seeking Knut leadership is to declare their prowess, intention and ability to cripple learning in public schools by mobilising teachers to strike.

It’s not a coincidence that these calls are made during election time, school opening days, examination sitting and examination marking days. It’s easy to read self-seeking tendencies and opportunism on the side of the leadership of Knut for them to start threats of a strike at such an early stage of the year as children prepare to go to school.

The Knut leadership has perfected the art of blackmail using archaic methods in order to appear like they are acting in the best interests of their members who in most cases have no clue about the underhand personal intentions and interests of the officials that do not necessarily address the interests of ordinary teachers. The leaders of Knut appear to be more interested in publicity than results.

These selfish and opportunistic approaches in dealing with teachers’ demands must stop in the best interest of the national academic curriculum development. It must be noted that the country’s development will lag behind if we compromise our academic calendar and quality of education by insisting on recurrent teachers strikes as a way of making their needs addressed. A few days ago, Knut conditionally retreated on their earlier plan of calling for a nationwide teachers strike.

The threat of a strike comes a few months after another one that paralysed learning across the country towards the end of 2013, before Standard Eight and Form Four national exams kicked off.

Last year, it took efforts of both President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto’s to initiate discussions that eventually ended the strike, even when it had been declared illegal by the industrial court after the government through the Ministry of Labour in consultation with the Education Ministry challenged the strike in court.

The 2013 teachers’ strike seriously affected the eventual performance of some candidates especially in public schools within rural areas. The greatest concern especially by parents and Kenyans is whether these strikes work in anybody’s interest; be it teachers, students or parents.

It is in every teacher’s interest just like its parents and students’ for the latter to perform well in national exams. It’s against this background that Knut should discard the threats to strike as the only method of negotiation. President Uhuru, while meeting school heads in a conference last year, requested for dialogue in resolving such like issues.

This was a good gesture from the Head of State and it would serve as a positive purpose for Knut to be committed to this route to avoid any other waste of academic hours for students and teachers.

The concerns raised by Knut are legitimate demands by any trade union world over in representing the interests of their members, but civility demands that we embrace modern methods of negotiation considering that Kenya is a democratic state that has allowed the existence of trade unions such as Knut.

The main reason of having elected leadership is representation, and by the union having such representative leadership, teachers have an opportunity to engage in constructive discussions with the government in a structured way. Continuing with striking threats every time we need something addressed is not good for the society, continuing like this will have a country raise rogue future generations who will find it alien to use dialogue as a means of resolving disputes.

The writer is the leader of Kenya Young Voters Alliance