By Geoffrey Kimagut
The National Chairman of Kenya National Teachers Pressure Group (KNTPG) has recorded a statement at the Suswa Police Station claiming that his life is in danger.
Kinyua Mwangi, who teaches at Suswa Girls Secondary School in Narok East Sub-county, said that his life was in danger after some strange people visited his home in the Suswa trading center several times. The teacher reported the threat on Monday at 1020hrs and was recorded under the OB number 13/12/12/2021/ at the police station.
“I fear for my life after unknown people have been visiting my home and without saying who they are or what they wanted from me,”said Mwangi.
Mwangi added that apart from him, the other 17 officials of the group have experienced similar scenarios.
“I called upon the Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai to provide security for me, my family and my colleagues so that our safety can be guaranteed,” said Mwangi.
Mwangi suspects the move and the life-threatening messages his colleagues have received to be behind their tough stand on teachers’ issues, especially on TPD and CBC.
“I have been implicated in the teachers’ politics for my stand on the Teachers Development Programme (TPD) module which the teachers are opposing on grounds that if the government wants them to go back to school, they should fully fund the programme,” he said.
The chairman laments that the programme that would require every teacher to have a teaching license that is renewable after every five years is expensive.
“The choice of the universities to study the programme is also wrong because we don’t know how the private universities were awarded the tender to conduct it. We want the TSC to stop the programme and run its teachers-oriented module,” said Mwangi.
He also noted that the constitution of Kenya is clear that any decision done on the public, Kenyans must be involved in it.
“We want the programme to be brought back to the teachers so that they can discuss and agree whether to support it or not,” said the distraught teacher.
He also said that they are opposing the medical scheme available to all teachers, saying many private hospitals and clinics contracted are very far for some teachers and that some do not meet the standards of public hospitals.
“Teachers have sent us since the unions are ‘dead’. They also don’t want the current medical scheme and we need our medical allowances back or enhanced NHIF cover where we will attend the hospitals of our choice,” said Mwangi.
Mwangi also told the government and TSC to stop intimidating teachers who are currently calling for reforms through the group.
He said that about 18 teachers who are strongly advocating for these changes have been transferred by the commission while others have been subjected to untold sufferings or sacked so that they can continue with their programmes without any objection.
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