Dark clouds are hanging on the education sector right from basic education through to universities after respective teachers’ unions issued notices for a countrywide strike set to begin on August 26.
The strike comes ahead of KPSEA and KCSE exam preparations scheduled for October and November respectively.
The major bone of contention for teachers is the dishonoured promise by the government to implement the second phase of the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) have further demanded the promotion of 36,000 teachers and 130,000 stagnated tutors; and the recruitment of 20,000 teachers on permanent and pensionable terms to address the huge deficit in Junior Secondary Schools.
The University Academic Staff Union (UASU) has also decried delayed and incomplete salary payments and has threatened to cripple academic activities in all public universities.
UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga lamented of non-remittance of contributions to the National Social Security Fund, National Health Insurance Fund, retirement benefits schemes, Saccos, loans, insurance, pensions and other welfare bodies.
New Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Julius Migosi Ogamba, during his vetting in Parliament, said that he hoped that teachers will agree to defer the implementation of the CBA.
Ogamba said that the amount of resources at the government’s disposal had reduced following the withdrawal of Finance Bill 2024.
The National Assembly Education Committee had earlier warned that teachers may resort to strikes following the government’s move to reduce the recurrent budget of TSC by Ksh10.2 billion. The Committee Chairperson Julius Melly hinted that the reduction would lead to industrial action and disruption of learning.
The most significant step at the moment is to embrace dialogue to calm down the unrest.
All key players should get on the same page and realize that prolonged strikes will lead to significant learning losses, potentially affecting students’ performance in national examinations and their overall academic trajectories.
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The impending strike is a stark reminder of the critical challenges affecting teachers and also the implementation of the Competence-Based Curriculum. The government should act with speed for immediate intervention and mitigation.
While the immediate focus is on resolving the strike and motivating teachers to go back to class amid eroding confidence on CBAs, it is imperative that the government and relevant stakeholders engage in meaningful dialogue and implement functional and binding reforms.
By Yabesh Onwong’a
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