Nationwide industrial action leaves parents and students in agony

By Lonah Kibet

Nairobi, Kenya: Elistina Were walked into Park Road Primary School in Nairobi on Monday to pick her children as usual.

However, like most parents, she was greatly worried about today’s nationwide teachers’ strike.

Ms Were, a businesswoman and a mother of two, expects good results from her son, 12, who will be sitting his KCPE exam at the end of the year. However, her son’s dream could be crushed if the Government does nothing to address the strike promptly.

“You saw what happened last year. Due to the strike, students from private schools performed better than those in public. I am a worried parent if this will be the trend,” said Were.

Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) joins their rivals Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) in a nationwide strike.

Dialogue and agree

Learning will be paralysed in all public secondary and primary schools.

Ms Were said her Standard Eight son and his classmates should not be denied a chance to read just because the Government cannot dialogue and agree with teachers.

She urged the Government to dialogue with teachers and find a solution for the sake of students.

“We do not know how long this strike will take. Please let the Government and teachers consider the plight of students,” she said.

She added that students lost a lot of time during electioneering period where they had to stay at home because schools were being used as polling stations.

Ms Were defended teachers’ decision, saying they were asking for their right and should also be considered by Government.

“It is sad to know that teachers who taught us are still riding bicycles to schools while most of us are driving big cars. While they are proud of what their students have accomplished, they themselves are not happy about their lives,” Were lamented.

She said all that teachers need is better pay to motivate them.

Her son Cohen Ababu said the strike will greatly affect his studies now that they are almost winding up the syllabus.

“I want to be in class with my teachers to prepare for KCPE. If I go home, I will lag behind in studies,” said Cohen.

He added: “We are asking the Government to pay our teachers so that they can come back to school.  I want to go to a good secondary school next year. We have little time to prepare for exams.”