Teachers held peaceful demonstrations in Kisii Town on Thursday demanding to be paid their dues as granted by the Supreme Court in its ruling.
Kisii County Kuppet secretary general Ben Nyaundi insisted teachers will not report to work unless the government pays them the 50-60 per cent pay.
“The government must reason with teachers if they want us to open schools. We are not going to class till our demands are met. This is total mockery the government is doing against teachers," Nyaundi said.
"We are ready to spend the entire term home unless the government respects teachers by paying them. That does not mean that we do not have students' interests at our hearts."
They accused the government of undermining the role played by the teachers in the development of the country.
“Enough is enough and the government must understand that we are not happy. We have been underpaid for a long time and that is why the Supreme Court ruled in our favor. It is not a favor that we received the pay rise. We work," Nyaundi added.
Learning in schools across the country has been paralysed in the fourth day today after Knut and Kuppet instructed teachers to stay at home unless they get paid the salary hike that was recently awarded by the Supreme Court.
Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC) has gone to court challenging the Supreme Court for its ruling a fortnight ago.
Meanwhile, parents in Kisii have shown dissatisfaction with the government for downplaying the striking teachers' issues.
They have threatened to strike if the government will not resolve teachers’ issues so that they can go back to teaching.
“Parents are disappointed with the government. This is a sensitive term because our students, especially the class eight and form four candidates, are preparing for their exams. The ongoing strike is likely to affect them,” said Peter Nyambane, a parent with a class eight candidate at Kisii Primary.