Teachers in Bungoma County have threatened to down their tools at the start of the second term if the government fails to fix persistent healthcare access problems under the Social Health Authority (SHA) medical scheme during the school holiday.
Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Assistant Executive Secretary in Bungoma, Ferdinand Wamalwa, issued the warning during a gathering in Kabuchai Constituency, saying that only three hospitals in the entire county are currently serving teachers under the scheme.
“Here in Bungoma, we only have three hospitals in the entire county that are treating our teachers. We have said next term, if this thing of SHA is not worked on, we are going to call for a very serious strike,” Wamalwa said.
“We will direct students to stay home as we embark on a total shutdown. We are giving the government this holiday to address the issue,” he added.
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Schools closed for the April holiday on April 2 and are due to reopen on April 27, giving the government less than three weeks to act.
Wamalwa also faulted TSC for failing to recruit enough teachers, saying the shortage has increased the workload on existing staff and compromised the quality of education.
By Benedict Aoya
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