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North Eastern teachers, parents now up in arms over non-local teachers slur

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Learning in Wajir and other counties in North Eastern province has been paralysed for the second week as non local teachers who constitute large percentage of the teaching fraternity in the region made good of their threat not to report back to schools after December holidays. SHEKHEY AHMED reports.

Mandera teachers' welfare group at a press conference in Mandera.

Mandera teachers’ welfare group at a press conference in Mandera.

A spot check by this reporter confirmed that some schools have as many as 19 teachers missing prompting the school heads to merge some classes. Lessons such as Kiswahili are yet to be taught in many schools both primary and secondary for the third weeks now as it was a reserve for the non local teachers.
Public primary schools are also opting for form four leavers to fill the vacuum.

Parents and boards of management of schools in Wajir are now worried about the fate of learning in the county.
In a press statement, through their chairman mr Mohamed Noor they said the absence of non local teachers in Wajir is unjustified as the security issue is above board and teachers are not targeted. They said students have missed four week lessons and the ground is no longer level.

Mr Mohamed said the non local teachers are not honest and wish to get a transfer to their places of origin and are therefore using insecurity as scapegoat.
“Fifty private schools are functional, 95% of the teachers are non locals and all of them are back, other government workers are also back to work, even the construction industry that is mainly dependent on non locals is fully operational, then who is this targeting TSC teachers only,” he posed.

Mr Mohamed termed the allegations by a teacher on one of the local dailies that their houses are turned to armoury when they go for holidays as laughable and an isult to the security intelligence of the this country.He said they have identified the teacher and will sue him for defamation and character assassination.

The board of management of schools in Wajir now want to sue KNUT and its secretary Wilson Sossion for what they termed as populist statements that are hateful, inciteful and discriminative against children that are already marginalised.

Similar sentiments were echoed by nominated MCA Fatuma Yussuf who is also the assembly’s committee member on education. She said no teacher was killed in Wajir since independence.
She expressed her concern about what she described as unjustified silence about the issue.
“The executive’s silence on this matter especially by the president is appalling as its not the duty of the child to provide security, so the punishment is uncalled for” She said
Fatuma said parents and teachers from Wajir are offended by recent remarks by ODM secretary general Ababu Namwamba endorsing the teachers action adding that encouraging teachers to shun away from teaching in a county that was entirely Corded was an insult.( 8 out of the 9 elected leaders won on ODM ticket)

Board of Management of schools in Wajir are now contemplating closing schools if the current deficiency in teaching staffs persists. They also vowed to hold demonstration from tomorrow until the government offers the teaching crisis the attention it deserves.

Mandera

And in Mandera County, Mandera County teachers’ welfare unions made up of Kenya Primary Education
Head teachers Association (KEPSHA) Kenya
Secondary Head teachers Association (KESSHA)
and KNUT representatives held a press conference to refute claims by the non-local teachers that they were subjected to harassment by the locals and students. They said, if anything, the teachers were offered special incentives like breakfast, lunch and accommodation in
government houses. They added that new teachers were additionally entitled to imprests upon arrival. The
welfare group threatened to break away from the
Sossion led KNUT and form independent union to
represent the interest of the teachers in the
pastoral communities. They also appealed to the
concerned teachers to resume duties since the
national government has beefed security and the
county government pledged support for them.
Earlier this month, the teachers sought transfer from the North Eastern counties citing insecurity.
Leaders from the region have condemned the teachers who refused to go back to class, saying the move to boycott classes amounts to discrimination. They similarly called on KNUT chairman Sossion not to order teachers to stay off classes because of such an isolated case, yet their were counties that experience rampant insecurity.
In a barrage of tweets, Mandera Senator Kerrow condemned the teachers and

called on the government to recruit new teachers who are ready to serve their people in their time of need.
On their part, however, the non local teachers say their houses have been marked and that the government did not come out strongly to assure them of their security.
While protesting infront of the TSC headquarters in Nairobi, one teacher was seen holding up a banner that read: “We want to educate our children, but the right to life supersedes the right to education.”

HABIBA ALI and ABDIKADIR OKASH contributed to this report.

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