Let us avoid another teachers’ strike

Kenyan teachers should reconsider walking off the job September 1, and avoid disrupting thousands of children and families now that their employer has suspended the touchy delocalisation exercise.
It is something akin to a national scandal that tutors in Kenyan public schools have been striking from time to time paralysing learning and causing untold suffering to learners.
Acting under the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) umbrella, they appear to be obsessed with frequent strikes. Industrial action is a constitutional right but must be of last resort.
For the forlorn students, there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. KNUT has threatened to strike come September a time when Standard Eight and Form Four candidates will be sitting their national examinations.
The major grouse of KNUT is that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has introduced ‘unfriendly’ policies to their members.
The union is not happy with the delocalization of teachers, new promotion policy and performance contracting.
The intended strike is a ruinous strategy, not only for the union but especially for the sector. While every reasonable effort should be made to address the needs of teachers, the time has come for a more holistic approach for the entire sector.
Education is too crucial for national development to be hobbled by one crisis after another.
The Government and KNUT should demonstrate a greater willingness to address issues that disrupt learning. Members of KNUT should also show some understanding of the snail pace nature of Government bureaucracy between when decisions are reached and implemented.
The almost inflexible position they have taken does not lend itself to a speedy and amicable resolution of their grievances.
This tendency to abandon work at the slightest whim has seriously removed the sting from the strike weapon.
There are many channels available for negotiation. These should be the preferred option rather than the recourse to strikes that disrupt the school system and lead to poor academic performance.
The Ministry of Education should find a way of re-engaging with teachers so that students can study undisrupted.
It is encouraging to note that the TSC has initiated a meeting with teacher unions scheduled for August 21 to discuss and address the concerns precipitating the planned boycott. The move which appears to suspend the contentious delocalisation of teachers, one of the hot issues stoking fires on the expected strike, is a step in the right direction by the teachers’ employer.
We only hope that through those direct engagements between the TSC and the unions an agreement will be reached to spare parents and students the agony of interrupted learning as we head towards the critical exam calendar.