Teachers protest as strike commences

By Peter Ochieng

Teachers aligned to the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) commenced their strike on Monday, after days of negotiations with various players in the government failed to bear fruit.

KUPPET majorly represents teachers in secondary schools. The union’s members carried out protests in various parts of the country, including Bungoma, Eldoret and Nyamira.

With placards and posters, the teachers, dressed in yellow, called on the government to fully address their grievances, before they go back to class.

“We want TSC and the government to also review our career progression before we return to work," said some of the teachers in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.

"From here we are moving to other schools to ensure that they are closed," said teachers who assembled at Bungoma High School, in Bungoma, signalling the start of the strike.

"I want to tell my colleagues in the primary sector, teachers who are affected and suffering like teachers in KUPPET, to come forward and participate in this strike together," they added.

On the other hand, Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) members are back in class, after officials called off the strike to give President William Ruto’s time to address their grievances, including implementation of the 2021/1225 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

Low turn of learners was however reported in various parts of the country, as the strike was called off on Sunday evening before parents prepared well enough to take their children back to school, for the third and final term of the year.

Meanwhile, the Teachers Service Commission says it will settle new raised salaries to all teachers by August 30, 2024.

TSC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nancy Macharia stated that the payment will be backdated to July after the government released Sh13 billion for phase two of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement.