Bungoma KNUT officials challenge KUPPET to call off their strike

Written by Rosemary Wachiye

The KNUT Lugari branch chairman Kepher Kisali addressing teachers outside the branch office during last weeks' national teachers' strike. [Photo/ Joseph Amunya]

Kenya National Union of Teachers officials Bungoma East Branch are calling upon the KUPPET officials to end their strike like they did stating that it was KNUT’s idea to start the strike but right now the KUPPET officials are capitalizing on it to begin their own.

Speaking to the KNUT executive secretary in Bungoma East District Mr.Aggrey Namisi, he challenged the KUPPET officials to be brave enough as an independent union body to call off their own strike and not to sit around and wait for KNUT officials to begin a strike for them to join in.

This comes two days after KNUT called off their strike and called upon the primary school teachers to embark on teaching.

Learning in primary schools has resumed as per Monday morning as most teachers reported to their duty and pupils settled in for learning.

“We are happy to note that most schools have resumed learning after we called off the strike yesterday,” Mr.Namisi

Though the government did not give in fully to the teachers demands led by KNUT, it at least gave into 90% of what they demanded  and  agreed to employ 18,000 who are right now on contract basis on permanent and pensionable terms by next month and another 5,000 teachers by January next year.

Mr.Namisi stated that he hopes that the government will live up to their promise and also pay the arrears it owes teachers who were promoted to job groups L, M, N and P within the next one month.

He expressed his disappointment on the way KUPPET officials were behaving because according to him it is rather obvious that the government would not loosen its belt so much and gave in to the little they could and so it defeats purpose when KUPPET officials still insist that their strike is still on.

However, the KUPPET chairman Bungoma District, Mr. Masai arap Bokose, still insist that despite KNUT calling off their strike, the government has not fulfilled all its promises. First he expressed his disappointment on the government failing to raise teachers medical and transport allowances to be similar to those of civil servants as it had promised.

“The strike is on in secondary schools until when the government will act upon what we want,” said Mr.Bokose.

Despite that learning in most secondary schools was on as usual and speaking to the Deputy Head Teacher at St.Marys Girls secondary School in webuye, Mr. Joseph Lusweti, stated that as teachers they considered the students welfare to be priority more than their own benefits.

“Teaching is going on as usual because at the end of the year, when the results come out, teachers will be answerable for the students performance and there will be no excuse about the strike,” said Mr.Lusweti

Mr.Lusweti also called upon the KUPPET officials to rethink their more and allow the teachers to teach as their continue with their negotiations with the government so that at the end of the course everybody benefits.

Mr.Namisi also wished the KUPPET officials all the best in their endeavor and hoped that the government will give in to their demands while also replying to the Prime Ministers sentiments last evening that the teachers should not just focus on strikes but children’s performance.

“I want to tell the Prime minister that by us striking we show concern about the students welfare and we were addressing the falling standards in performance in schools that is brought about by lack of enough teachers to teach,” said Mr.Namisi.