The current strike by secondary school teachers has entered its second week, marked by widespread student unrest and closure of several schools across the country. As the standoff between the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education and the government is not about to cease anytime soon, students have taken the law into their hands amid chaotic scenes, property destruction, and a growing sense of instability within the education sector.
Machakos Boys High School to Be First Lot Closure
Among the first schools to be hit by chaos was Machakos Boys High School, whose students ran amok on Sunday evening. Things got out of hand as School Principal Benson Manoo was forced to close down the school on Monday morning. According to reports, students’ actions made life hostile for teachers who live within the school premises, forcing them to flee for their lives.
Widespread Unrest Across Other Schools
It is not Machakos Boys High School alone that has been plunged into this turmoil. A number of schools in the region have equally faced the same fate of closure owing to student unrest. Nyayo Girls Secondary in Kalama sub-county equally saw two dormitories reduced to ashes when students burnt them down on the same night. Makindu Girls High has equally suffered a similar fate with one of its dormitories razed to the ground. The situation was even more dramatic when fire razed a library at Bungoma High School.
Other schools that have similarly been paralysed due to the unrest include Mitaboni ABC Girls in Kathiani sub-county, Masii Girls, Matungulu ABC and Mtituni SA secondary schools. The closures reflect growing desperation and apprehension among students as the ongoing strike by teachers seems to have no apparent solution in sight.
KUPPET Resolves to Continue the Strike
Yet despite spiraling levels of conflict, KUPPET remains intransigent. Union officials, after a meeting of the union’s National Governing Council held on Sunday, vowed the strike would persist until their grievances are addressed. KUPPET Secretary General Akelo Misori urged schoolteachers to stay at home and warned that schools would not resume their normal operations until the government acceded to some essential issues, among them, the promotion of stagnated teachers.
Government Response and Students’ Outcome
So far, the government, through the Teachers Service Commission, has rebuffed KUPPET’s request for negotiations, leading to a standoff that leaves millions of students in limbo. The strike is particularly concerning for Standard 8 and Form 4 students who have been preparing to sit for their national exams later this year. Prolonged absenteeism among teachers has disrupted their preparation, making the anxiety and uncertainty surrounding the future of their academics worse.